According to ABC News, a proposed law in Japan would regulate anonymous sperm donation, preserving the right of children to know their biological parents. It would also cap the number of recipients from a single donor.  

Legislation like this is badly needed, but some have accused it of  “robbing women… of their reproductive rights, and their desire to give birth to and raise children.” And therein lies the problem. Desires and rights are not the same thing. Throughout the sexual revolution, adult desires have been consistently prioritized over the rights of children. 

One lawmaker put it this way: “Assisted reproductive technology should not be pursued at the expense of the wellbeing of children.” To be clear, technology that infringes on a child’s rights to life, to be protected in body and mind, and to his or her own mother and father should not be pursued at all. 

Japan has a long way to go, but as Them Before Us founder Katy Faust put it, they are “on the right track.”