Ms Maud de Boer-Buquicchio:

I thank the Chair for that question. I agree that this is a difficult area, but I think it can be solved by, for instance, informing separately. The birth certification is public, so it should not contain any reference to the fact that the child was born differently from traditional family formation methods. However, we must reconcile their rights. I have seen an example in Victoria in Australia, where all donor-conceived children - the term “donor conceived” also applies to these kinds of arrangements - have equal access to information, regardless of their mode of conception. There are contact data preferences, which allow them to access identifying information on the donor. The donor can also decide if they wish to have no contact or a certain type of contact with their descendants. When donor-conceived children apply for their birth certificate as adults, they will be informed that more information is available about their birth. If they are not already aware that they are donor conceived, then they are likely to find out when they ask about this additional information. There are, therefore, ways and means to avoid the risk of discrimination. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child applies to all children. This is in respect of all the other rights, which I have not mentioned, such as access to health and education. All of these should be granted to every single child, without any discrimination. That also covers the right to identity.