The parent and child relationship.

(1) The Uniform Parentage Act defines the parent and child relationship as the legal relationship existing between a child and the child's parents, and provides rebuttable presumptions as to the parentage of a child born under the circumstances of conception through assisted reproduction using donated ova, sperm, or both. The act defines "assisted reproduction" for these purposes to mean conception by any means other than sexual intercourse. This bill would establish that a provider of an embryo for use in assisted reproduction to an intended parent who is not the provider's spouse or nonmarital partner is treated in law as if the provider is not the natural parent of a child thereby conceived unless the court finds satisfactory evidence that the provider and the intended parent intended for the provider to be a parent. If the provider of ova, semen, or embryos is not the original source of the ova or sperm, the bill would require each original provider's written consent to the donation unless the person has executed a writing to consent, waive, or relinquish their right to the genetic material, or as otherwise ordered by a court of law. (2) Existing law authorizes an adoption request for the adoption of a nondependent minor to be filed with the court in the county in which one of specified criteria applies and sets forth those individuals who may file an adoption request. Under existing law, an order of adoption is required to contain the child's adopted name, but not the name of the child before the adoption. This bill would add to the list of persons authorized to file an adoption request a person named in a court order terminating parental rights as the child's legal guardian or prospective adoptive parent. The bill would require the adoption order to include both the child's adopted name and the name of the child before the adoption. The bill would replace references to an adoption petition and refer instead to an adoption request. (3) Existing law prohibits any person who has not petitioned to adopt a child from removing the child from the county in which the child was placed without first obtaining the written consent of the licensed adoption agency. Existing law further prohibits the child proposed to be adopted from being concealed within the county in which the adoption proceeding is pending. This bill would, among other things, prohibit the child proposed to be adopted from being concealed from the agency that is investigating the adoption or from the court with jurisdiction over the adoption proceeding. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.