Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1980
ISSN
0014-729X
Publisher
American Bar Association
Language
en-US
Abstract
Alex Haley concludes his international best seller, Roots, with the burial of his father in Little Rock, Arkansas. Walking away from the graveside he ponders the past generations, observing "I feel that they do watch and guide." The book inspired whole industries devoted to the development of family trees, and locating one's "roots" has become somewhat of an obsession with many. Because of the current secrecy surrounding the practice of Artificial Insemination Donor (AID), there are an estimated 250,000 children conceived by AID (at the rate of 6-10,000 annually in the United States) who will never be able to find their biological roots. There is almost no data available on these children, their psychological development, or their family life. The entire procedure has been shrouded in secrecy that is primarily justified by fear of potential legal consequences should the fact of AID be discovered.
Recommended Citation
George J. Annas,
Fathers Anonymous: Beyond the Best Interests of the Sperm Donor
,
in
14
Family Law Quarterly
1
(1980).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/1219
