Contracting out of fatherhood.

• Author: Mitchell, Teresa
• Position: Bench Press - Parent child relations - Brief article

Jane and John Doe are an Alberta couple in an unmarried relationship. Jane decided that she wanted to have a child and after artificial insemination, gave birth. John did not want to father a child, be the child's guardian, stand in place of a parent, or support the child. The couple drafted a contract to that effect and asked the court for an opinion on whether the contract was valid. A chambers judge said no. The couple appealed to the Alberta Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal unanimously agreed that the contract could not be enforced. It wrote that while intention to stand in the place of a parent is relevant, it is not determinative. Rather, the Court ruled that the contract must be placed in the context of the couple's relationship and the child. Justice Ronald Berger wrote, "The 'settled intention' to remain in a close albeit unmarried relationship thrust John Doe, from a practical and realistic point of view, into the role...