3L Jackie Acker talks about her article and getting published.

Hi!  My name is Jackie Acker.  I have had the honor of having my article “The Case for an Unregulated Private Sperm Donation Market” accepted for publication in the UCLA Women’s Law Journal.

Sperm donation may seem like an odd topic to write a legal article about, but the issue could not be more timely. 

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of “private” sperm donors – men who give away their sperm to women and families trying to conceive.  The FDA has cracked down on this practice by labeling one private donor a “sperm manufacturer” and therefore subject to the FDA regulations which normally apply to sperm banks. They ordered the man to cease manufacture or face criminal and monetary penalties.

My article explores the reasons for the increase in private sperm donation, the benefits and pitfalls of private donation in contrast to obtaining sperm through a sperm bank, and whether the FDA should regulate private sperm donation or whether a woman should have the right to choose her method of obtaining sperm.

I wrote the article for Professor Marguerite Chapman’s Law, Medicine & Ethics Seminar course.  She suggested the topic after reading about it in Newsweek.  The subject fascinated me, and I eagerly researched and wrote on the topic.  At first, I thought there should be more regulation of private sperm donation, but my opinion changed after researching the matter.

Professor Chapman’s guidance was instrumental in the writing and editing process.  Professor Halabi’s wisdom and suggestions also helped me prepare the paper for submission to various law reviews and journals.  My classmate, Colin Fowler, let me bounce ideas off of him when I was writing the “attention grabber” for my submissions.  We are so lucky at TU Law to have professors who are willing to go to such lengths to help their students and classmates who are willing to spend their valuable time lending a hand.