Bill Text: NY A00526 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes a cause of action for fertility fraud; allows patients who have undergone assisted reproduction procedures to bring a cause of action if human reproductive material other than that which was consented to by the patient is used in such procedure; allows for compensatory and punitive damages.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to judiciary [A00526 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A00526-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           526

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. PAULIN, DINOWITZ, ROSENTHAL, SEAWRIGHT, SIMON,
          ROZIC, MAGNARELLI, OTIS, McDONOUGH -- read once and  referred  to  the
          Committee on Judiciary

        AN  ACT to amend the civil rights law and the education law, in relation
          to establishing a cause of action for fertility fraud

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Article  5 of the civil rights law is amended by adding a
     2  new section 52-e to read as follows:
     3    § 52-e. Private right of action for fertility fraud.  1.  Any  patient
     4  who  has undergone an assisted reproduction procedure with a health care
     5  provider, any intended parent, the spouse of any patient who has  under-
     6  gone an assisted reproduction procedure with a health care provider, the
     7  spouse  of any intended parent, or a child or person born as a result of
     8  such assisted reproduction procedure  shall  have  a  private  right  of
     9  action  for  damages  against such health care provider under any of the
    10  following conditions:
    11    (a) such health care provider knowingly or intentionally  performs  an
    12  assisted reproduction procedure using the human reproductive material of
    13  the  health  care  provider  or  any  other  donor without the patient's
    14  informed written consent to treatment using human reproductive  material
    15  from  the health care provider or from any donor other than a donor from
    16  whom the patient consented to in writing; or
    17    (b) such health  care  provider  intentionally  performs  an  assisted
    18  reproduction procedure and such health care provider knows or reasonably
    19  should  have  known  that the human reproductive material was used:  (i)
    20  without the donor's consent; or (ii) in a manner or to an  extent  other
    21  than that to which the donor consented.
    22    2.  Any  patient who has undergone an assisted reproduction procedure,
    23  any intended parent, the spouse of any  patient  who  has  undergone  an

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02744-01-5
        A. 526                              2

     1  assisted reproduction procedure, the spouse of any intended parent, or a
     2  child or person born as a result of such assisted reproduction procedure
     3  shall  have  a  private  right  of action for damages against a donor or
     4  assisted reproductive service provider under any of the following condi-
     5  tions:
     6    (a)  such  donor  or  assisted reproductive service provider knowingly
     7  provides false or  misleading  information  about  the  donor's  medical
     8  history including but not limited to an illness at the time of donation,
     9  any  past  illness of the donor, or the genetic or family history of the
    10  donor for the past two generations which is known to the  donor  at  the
    11  time of donation; or
    12    (b)  such  assisted  reproductive  service  provider knowingly uses or
    13  provides human reproductive material for an assisted reproduction proce-
    14  dure in a manner or to an extent other than that to  which  the  patient
    15  consented.
    16    3. A donor of human reproductive material shall have a cause of action
    17  against  a health care provider or assisted reproductive service provid-
    18  er, if the donor's human reproductive material was used: (a) without the
    19  donor's consent; or (b) in a manner or to an extent other than  that  to
    20  which the donor consented.
    21    4.  Damages  recovered  by  a plaintiff pursuant to this section shall
    22  include compensatory damages, including plaintiff's  emotional  distress
    23  arising    from defendant's conduct.   In addition thereto, the trier of
    24  fact may award punitive damages and such other  non-monetary  relief  as
    25  may be appropriate.
    26    5.  Nothing  in  this section shall be deemed to abrogate or otherwise
    27  limit any right or remedy otherwise conferred by federal or  state  law,
    28  including  but  not  limited  to,  any  right or remedy related to child
    29  support, nor shall any award under this section be used to offset  child
    30  support obligations that may arise in connection with this section.
    31    6.  A  cause  of action under this section shall be commenced no later
    32  than six years from the date a person discovers,  or  reasonably  should
    33  have discovered, the fertility fraud.
    34    7.  For  purposes  of this section, the following terms shall have the
    35  following meanings:
    36    (a) "donor" shall mean an individual who  does  not  intend  to  be  a
    37  parent, who produces human reproductive material and provides such human
    38  reproductive  material  to  another  person, other than the individual's
    39  spouse, for use in an assisted reproduction procedure;
    40    (b) "human reproductive material" shall mean:
    41    (i) a human spermatozoon or ovum; or
    42    (ii) a human organism at any stage of development from fertilized ovum
    43  to embryo;
    44    (c) "patient" shall mean any individual  injected  or  implanted  with
    45  human reproductive material; and
    46    (d)  "intended  parent"  shall have the same meaning as in subdivision
    47  (l) of section 581-102 of the family court act.
    48    § 2. Section 6530 of the education law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    49  subdivision 51 to read as follows:
    50    51. (a) Knowingly or intentionally performing an assisted reproduction
    51  procedure  using  the human reproductive material of the licensee or any
    52  other donor without the patient's informed written consent to  treatment
    53  using  human  reproductive  material from the licensee or from any donor
    54  other than a donor from whom the patient consented to in writing; or
        A. 526                              3

     1    (b) intentionally performing an assisted  reproduction  procedure  and
     2  such  licensee  knows  or  reasonably  should  have known that the human
     3  reproductive material was used:
     4    (i) without the donor's consent; or
     5    (ii)  in  a  manner or to an extent other than that to which the donor
     6  consented.
     7    § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
     8  have  become  a  law, and shall apply to acts occurring on or after such
     9  date.