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Neb. Judiciary Committee hears competing views on parentage for assisted reproduction (LB 11-48)
Summary
LB1148 would adopt portions of the 2017 Uniform Parentage Act to clarify parentage for children conceived through assisted reproduction, supporters said; opponents, including the Nebraska Catholic Conference, warned the bill could displace biological parentage and allow nonbiological persons to obtain legal parental status through written agreements.
Senator Megan Hunt (D-Lincoln) told the Judiciary Committee that LB1148 would update Nebraska law to reflect modern assisted-reproductive practices such as IVF, donor gametes and embryo donation. "LB 11 48 would address some of the legal complexities for parents who use assistive reproductive technology," Hunt said, citing the rise of at-home DNA testing and informal donor arrangements as reasons Nebraska needs a statutory framework modeled on the 2017 Uniform Parentage Act.
Hunt said the bill, drafted with assistance from the Uniform Law Commission, is intended to protect children, intended parents and donors by clarifying when parentage is established by consent or agreement rather than biology alone. She noted that some neighboring states have adopted similar updates and told the committee the measure is narrowly tailored to parentage determinations arising from assisted reproduction.
Opponents testifying included Mary Ann Miner of the Nebraska Catholic Conference, who said the bill treats children like "market commodities" and argued key provisions could allow unrelated people to be declared a child's legal parent via written agreement. Miner cited provisions she said enable revocation of consent or abandonment of embryos and argued those clauses put children at risk.
Representatives of the Uniform Law Commission and one of the act's drafters, Larry Ruth and Libby Snyder, appeared in neutral capacity to explain drafting choices. Ruth said the Commission drafted the language and stressed the Commission's intent that the selected provisions do not stand alone without stakeholder input; Snyder said the bill "clarifies and codifies procedures for determining parentage" for fertility treatments, excluding surrogacy recognition, and described how the measure would allow courts guidance when no written agreement exists.
Committee members questioned the practical effect of several provisions, including whether the bill conclusively bars donor parentage. Committee discussion focused on how the statute distinguishes anonymous donors from intended parents who donate biological material while intending to parent. No formal action or vote was taken at the Jan. 30 hearing; committee staff recorded 21 proponent, 32 opponent and one neutral written comments submitted online for the public record.
