Once upon a time, not all that long ago in fact, sex was the only way to have a child, and if people couldn't have a child for some reason, they either went without or looked at adoption. SometimesThese days, howeverwith the help of technology, it's possible for a people who want a child was not to have that child using donated eggs or sperm, or with the participants' desired outcome and rules were developed to help the courts figure out who of a child's father was when paternity was deniedsurrogate mother.

These daysThis section talks about assisted reproduction, with assisted reproductions and the help of technology, itrules in the ''[[Family Law Act]]''s possible for a couple about determining who want a child to have that child using donated eggs or sperm, or with the help of a surrogate mother. The question now is less often about who isn't a parent than who iswhen a child has been conceived through assisted reproduction.

Part 3 of #a single person wants to have a child;#the provincial ''Family Law Act'' provides people involved in an opposite-sex relationship are infertile or a comprehensive scheme for determining woman is unable to carry a baby to term;#the parentage of children that applies for all legal purposes people involved in British Columbiaa same-sex relationship want to have a child, including for family law disputes and wills and estates mattersthey want the child to share the genetic heritage of at least one of them; or, except when parentage is determined under #a couple wish to include another person as the ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84g5 Adoption Act]''parent of their child. Section 24 says this:

<blockquote><tt>(1) For all purposes of Whatever the law of British Columbiacircumstances are,</tt></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><tt>(having a) a person is the child of his or her parents,</tt></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><tt>(b) a child's parent is the person determined under this Part to be the child's parent, and</tt></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><tt>(c) the relationship of parent and child and kindred relationships flowing from that relationship must be as determined under this Part.</tt></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><tt>(2) For the purposes of an instrument through assisted reproduction inevitably involves one or enactment that refers to a person, described in terms more of his or her relationship to another person by birth, blood or marriage, the reference must be read as a reference to, and read to include, a person who comes within the description because of the relationship of parent and child as determined under this Part.</tt></blockquote>:

Section 26(1) says #the use of donated eggs;#the use of donated sperm; and,#the cooperation of a woman who will carry the baby to term as a child's parents are presumed to be:surrogate mother.

<blockquote><tt>On The 2004 federal ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7vzj Assisted Human Reproduction Act]'' regulates the birth of a child not born as a result scientific and commercial aspects of assisted reproduction. From a family law perspective, the child's parents are the birth important parts of this act make it illegal to sell eggs or sperm, and say that a surrogate mother and the childcan's biological fathert be given money for her services apart from compensation for her expenses.</tt></blockquote>

Now itThe provincial ''[[Family Law Act]]''s usually quite obvious who lets people make agreements when they are having a child by assisted reproduction that say which of the parties to the birth mother agreement will and won't be a legal parent of a the child is. It not always evident who (This part of the biological father is. A paternity test will resolve any uncertainty as to whether a particular man act is really awesome because it lets people decide who the father parents of a particular childwill be, and with today's technologies, the odds for all purposes of an incorrect result are on the <span class="noglossary">order</span> law of a thousandth of one percent. For a fatherBritish Columbia, proving paternity can be essential without having to go to establishing a right court to be involved in get an order saying who the parents of a childare.) Under the ''Family Law Act''s life. For a mother, proving paternity can be an essential step in securing a child support order.can have up to six parents if everyone agrees:

===The presumptions of fatherhood=== Only biological parents and #up to two people who are stepparents because they are the married or unmarried spouse of a parent are required intend to pay child support. When a man denies a responsibility to pay child support on the ground that he is not the child's father, the first thing the court will do is see whether he should be presumed to be the father because of the nature of his relationship with have the child's mother.  Under section 26(2) of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', a man is presumed to be the biological father of a child in one of the following circumstances: <blockquote><tt>(a) he was married to the child's birth mother on the day of the child's birth;</tt></blockquote><blockquote><tt>(b) he was married to the child's birth mother and, within 300 days before the child's birth, the marriage was ended</tt></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><tt>(i) by his death,</tt></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><tt>(ii) by #a judgment donor of divorce, or</tt></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><tt>(iii) as referred to in section 21eggs;</tt></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><tt>(c) he married the child's birth mother after the child's birth and acknowledges that he is the father;</tt></blockquote><blockquote><tt>(d) he was living with the child's birth mother in #a marriage-like relationship within 300 days before, or on the day donor of, the child's birthsperm donor;</tt></blockquote><blockquote><tt>(e) he, along with the child's birth mother, has acknowledged that he is the child's father by having signed #a statement under section 3 of the Vital Statistics Act</tt></blockquote> Presumptions like these were once very important when there was no reliable way to scientifically verify that a particular man was the father of a child. These days, however, we do have the technology and a man who disputes paternity despite these presumptions can ask for an order that a parentage test be conducted. Without challenging these presumptions, however, the man will likely be required to pay child support for the benefit of the child. ===Parentage tests=== Under section 33(2) of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', the court may <blockquote><tt>order a person, including a child, to have a tissue sample or blood sample, or both, taken by a medical practitioner or other qualified person for the purpose of conducting parentage tests.</tt></blockquote> Under section 33(1), a parentage test can be a human leukocyte antigen test, a DNA test, or "any other test the court considers appropriate." These are your choices: *'''Human leukocyte antigen tests:''' Human leukocyte antigen tests are a kind of advanced blood test that looks at the genetic markers on white blood cells to determine the likelihood that the child's antigens were inherited from a particular man. Their accuracy is northward of 96% but can be spoofed if the purported father has had a recent transfusion.*'''Deoxyribonucleic acid tests:''' DNA tests look for overlaps in the child's unique genetic code with the genetic code from the purported father and the child's surrogate mother. Today's DNA tests deal with the probability of fatherhood in terms approaching absolute certainty; if a DNA test shows a man is probably the father, the odds that the test is wrong are about 0.0001%. Testing is performed on biological samples, most commonly from mouth swabs, which are painless to obtain.*'''Chorionic villi sampling:''' This is a prenatal procedure that can be performed during the 10th to 13th week of pregnancy. It consists of a DNA test on a sample of the baby's placenta. It is an unpleasant procedure that must be conducted either through the mother's cervix or her abdominal wall. *'''Amniocentesis:''' This is a prenatal procedure that can be performed during the 14th to 24th week of pregnancy. It consists of a DNA test on a sample of amniotic fluid drawn through the mother's abdominal wall.  The DNA of a child is a combination of the DNA of the child's mother and father. DNA tests compare the child's DNA to that of the father and mother, and provide a calculation of the odds that the man is the child's father. Because of the accuracy of DNA testing, a positive result will prove extremely convincing to a court. Unless you have a doctorate in genetics or convincing proof that a sample was tampered with, I don't recommend that you challenge the results of a DNA test. Save your money. A number of companies serving British Columbia, such as [http://www.genetrackcanada.com Genetrack Biolabs], [https://www.thednalab.com The DNALAB], and [http://www.pro-adn.com Orchid PRO-DNA], will perform legally admissible paternity tests at a cost of around $480 to $500, plus taxes, for one child and an alleged father, with additional costs for more children or alleged fathers. For tests usable in a legal proceeding, the labs will require each person contributing samples to attend in person at an authorized sample collection location. ===Arranging for a parentage test=== If #the mother and the purported father agree to have a paternity test conducted, no order of the court is necessary. You simply <span class="noglossary">contact</span> the appropriate company and arrange to have blood or saliva samples taken and tested. The DNA tests are done with a mouth swab, generally, and legal paternity tests can be done with just the child's and the alleged father's sample. The results will be delivered to you directly. Some companies even offer home sampling kits that provide legally admissible test results provided that the test is properly witnessed by someone else. Generally, however, legal paternity tests are conducted in an authorized collection centre where identities of the sample providers and the integrity of the samples can be confirmed. Where the parties don't agree to a test, one of them, usually the alleged father, must make an application to court for an order that samples be taken from the parties and the child and that a paternity test be conducted under section 33(2) of the ''Family Law Act''. Under section 33(3), the court can also make an order about who must pay for the cost of the test. ==Assisted reproduction== Assisted reproduction relies on the assistance of, and often genetic contributions from, other people to create a child. It is necessary when: *a single person wants to have a child,*one or both people in an opposite-sex relationship are infertile or the woman is unable to carry a baby to term,*a couple in a same sex relationship want to have a child and they want the child to share in the genetic heritage of at least one of them, or*a couple wish to include another person as the parent of their child. Whatever circumstances are at hand, assisted reproduction inevitably involves one or more of: *the use of donated eggs,*the use of donated sperm, and*the cooperation of a woman who will carry the baby to term. The 2004 federal ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7vzj Assisted Human Reproduction Act]'' regulates the scientific and commercial aspects of assisted reproduction. From a family law perspective, the important parts of this act make it illegal to sell eggs or sperm, and say that a surrogate mother can't be paid for her services but she can be compensated for her expenses. The provincial ''[[Family Law Act]]'' lets people make agreements when they are having a child by assisted reproduction that say which of the parties to the agreement will and won't be a legal parent spouse of the child. Under the act, a child can have up to five parents if everyone agrees: up to two people who intend to have the child; an egg donor; a sperm donor; and, a surrogate mother.