Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
FERTILITY FRAUD
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
House Bill 4178 as reported from committee Analysis available at
Sponsor: Rep. John R. Roth http://www.legislature.mi.gov
House Bill 4179 as reported from committee
Sponsor: Rep. Karen Whitsett
House Bill 4180 as reported from committee
Sponsor: Rep. Kelly Breen
House Bill 4181 as reported from committee House Bill 4182 as reported from committee
Sponsor: Rep. Samantha Steckloff Sponsor: Rep. Alicia St. Germaine
Committee: Judiciary
Complete to 6-14-23
BRIEF SUMMARY: The bills would amend different acts to address fraud in reproductive assistance
procedures. House Bill 4178 would prohibit providing false or misleading information related
to an assisted reproduction procedure and prohibit a health professional from using an embryo,
sperm, or egg in such a procedure that is not the one the patient consented to. House Bills 4179,
4180, 4181, and 4182 would make related changes concerning, respectively, sentencing
guidelines, health professional sanctions, civil liability, and statutes of limitations.
FISCAL IMPACT: The bills would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on corrections and the
judiciary, but no or negligible impacts on other state agencies and local units of government.
(See Fiscal Information, below, for a detailed discussion.)
THE APPARENT PROBLEM:
The fairly recent use of home DNA test kits to explore one’s ancestry and locate long-lost
relations has facilitated a troubling discovery—the practice by some fertility doctors to use
their own sperm in assisted reproduction procedures with their patients and the failure of some
donors to disclose relevant or truthful information. Doctors using their own sperm in place of
donor sperm in infertility procedures, although infrequent, has been documented for several
decades, but the availability of the home test kits has uncovered numerous more recent
incidents around the nation, including in Michigan.
Fertility fraud, as some call the practice, is hardly harmless. In some cases, a doctor has
swapped out the husband’s semen for his own and only later is it revealed that the husband is
not the child’s biological father. In all cases of such fraud, the parent or parents have been
misled about the donor and important information, such as medical histories, has been hidden.
Several states have enacted some form of legislation to create sanctions against doctors who
commit fraud related to assisted reproduction procedures, and legislation is pending in several
more. It has been suggested that Michigan also enact sanctions to discourage medical
professionals and others from fraudulent assisted reproduction practices and to provide relief
to patients affected by the deception.
House Fiscal Agency Page 1 of 7
THE CONTENT OF THE BILLS:
House Bill 4178 would amend the Michigan Penal Code to create two felonies related to
assisted reproduction, defined as a method of causing pregnancy other than sexual intercourse.
False representation in assisted reproduction
First, the bill would provide that a person who knowingly, intentionally, or willfully engages
in a practice or act the person knows or reasonably should know provides false or misleading
information related to an assisted reproduction procedure is guilty of a felony punishable by
imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to $50,000, or both. Such a practice or act
would include making a false or misleading representation relating to any of the following:
• The human embryo or gamete used or provided for assisted reproduction.
• The identity (defined to mean “legal name”) of a donor of the human embryo or gamete
used or provided for assisted reproduction, including the donor’s name, birthdate, or
address at the time of donation.
• A donor’s medical history, including present illness at the time of donation, any past
illnesses, any history of diagnosed mental illness, the social history of the donor, any
known genetic defects, the family medical history of the donor, or the donor’s level of
education.
Know or knowingly would mean that a health professional or other person undertook
an action with knowledge and not because of mistake, accident, or other innocent
reason.
Human embryo would mean a human organism at any stage of development from
fertilized ovum to embryo.
Gamete would mean sperm, egg, or any part of a sperm or egg.
Donor would mean an individual who provides gametes or human embryos intended
for use in assisted reproduction, regardless of whether the individual receives financial
compensation for the donation.
Social history of the donor would mean the personal and sexual history of the donor
pertaining to risk factors for relevant communicable disease transmissible via gamete
donation.
Family medical history of the donor would mean the complete medical history of the
first-, second-, and third-degree relatives of the donor.
Use of another embryo or gamete
Second, the bill would provide that a health professional who knowingly or recklessly uses or
provides a human embryo or gamete, including their own human embryo or gamete, for
assisted reproduction other than the specific one the patient expressly consented to in writing
is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to 15 years or a fine of up to $100,000,
or both.
House Fiscal Agency HBs 4178 to 4182 as reported Page 2 of 7
 Health professional would mean an individual licensed, registered, certified, or
otherwise authorized to engage in a health profession under Article 15 (Occupations)
of the Public Health Code. 1
Patient would mean an individual under the care of a health professional.
Anonymous donors
The use of an anonymous donor, if requested by a patient, would not be a defense to a violation
of either of the above prohibitions committed by a health professional.
Anonymous donor would mean a donor whose identity is not provided to the patient.
The bill would take effect 90 days after the date it is enacted.
Proposed MCL 750.219g
House Bill 4179 would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure to add the felonies that would
be created under HB 4178 to the sentencing guidelines as follows:
• False representation with regard to specific circumstances regarding an assisted
reproduction procedure would be a class E crime against a person with a statutory
maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
• A health professional knowingly or recklessly using a human embryo or gamete other
than the one agreed to by the patient in an assisted reproduction procedure would be a
class C crime against a person with a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of 15
years.
The bill would take effect 90 days after the date it is enacted, but it would not take effect unless
HB 4178 were also enacted.
MCL 777.16l
House Bill 4180 would amend sections 16221 and 16226 of the Public Health Code. Section
16221 requires the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) to investigate an
allegation that one or more grounds for disciplinary subcommittee action exist concerning a
licensee, registrant, or applicant for licensure or registration under the code. The investigation
includes conducting hearings, administering oaths, and ordering relevant testimony to be given,
and its findings are then reported to the appropriate disciplinary subcommittee. After finding
the existence of one or more grounds for disciplinary subcommittee action, a disciplinary
subcommittee must impose one or more of the sanctions listed in section 16226 that apply to
the specific violation.
The bill would provide that a final order or judgment under the provisions of House Bill 4181
constitutes grounds requiring subcommittee action, with sanctions for a violation including
1
Health care professions licensed or registered under Article 15 of the Public Health Code include acupuncturists,
athletic trainers, audiologists, behavior analysts, chiropractors, counselors, dental assistants, dental hygienists,
dentists, genetic counselors, marriage and family therapists, massage therapists, midwives, nurses, nursing home
administrators, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants, optometrists, pharmacists and pharmacy
technicians, physical therapists and physical therapy assistants, physician’s assistants, physicians, podiatrists,
psychologists, respiratory therapists, sanitarians, social workers and social service technicians, speech-language
pathologists, and veterinarians and veterinarian technicians
House Fiscal Agency HBs 4178 to 4182 as reported Page 3 of 7
 probation; limitation, denial, suspension, revocation, or permanent revocation of the health
professional’s license or registration; restitution; or a fine.
The bill also would provide that a conviction for a violation of either of the prohibitions
proposed by House Bill 4178 (knowingly, intentionally, or willfully providing false or
misleading information related to an assisted reproduction procedure or a health professional
using a human embryo or gamete for assisted reproduction without consent) constitutes
grounds requiring disciplinary subcommittee action. Sanctions for a violation would include
probation; limitation, denial, suspension, revocation, or permanent revocation of the health
professional’s license or registration; restitution; or a fine.
The bill would not take effect unless HBs 4178 and 4181 were also enacted.
MCL 333.16221 and 333.16226
House Bill 4181 would amend the Revised Judicature Act to provide that a person that engages
in false representation in assisted reproduction is liable to an individual injured by that false
representation (as described below) for one or more of the following:
• Economic and noneconomic damages.
• Punitive damages.
• Reasonable attorney fees and costs.
False representation in assisted reproduction would mean conduct or a practice of
conduct described in section 219g(1) of the Michigan Penal Code. (This provision
would be added by HB 4178 and is described above under “False representation in
assisted reproduction.”)
Person would mean an individual or a partnership, corporation, limited liability
company, association, or other legal entity.
Any individual who is injured by a false representation in assisted reproduction could bring an
action under the bill, including any of the following individuals:
• The patient who gives birth to a child conceived through assisted reproduction as a
result of the false representation.
• The patient’s spouse at the time the patient used the assisted reproduction services.
• An individual conceived through assisted reproduction as a result of the false
representation.
• A donor whose gamete or human embryo resulted in the birth of a child as a result of
the false representation.
An individual bringing an action under the bill would have a separate cause of action for each
child born as a result of the false representation in assisted reproduction. An action under the
bill would have to be brought no later than three years after the individual bringing the action
discovers the false representation in assisted reproduction. An action under the bill would be
in addition to any other criminal or civil penalties or remedies provided by law.
The bill would not take effect unless HB 4178 were also enacted.
Proposed MCL 600.2980
House Fiscal Agency HBs 4178 to 4182 as reported Page 4 of 7
 House Bill 4182 would amend statute of limitations provisions in the Code of Criminal
Procedure to provide that an indictment for a violation of either of the prohibitions proposed
by House Bill 4178 (knowingly, intentionally, or willfully providing false or misleading
information related to an assisted reproduction procedure or a health professional using a
human embryo or gamete for assisted reproduction without consent) could be found and filed
within 15 years after the offense. However, if evidence of the offense were obtained and that
evidence contained DNA determined to be from an unidentified individual, an indictment could
be found and filed at any time after the offense was committed, except that it would have to be
filed within 15 years after the identification of the individual.
The bill would take effect 90 days after the date it is enacted, but it would not take effect unless
HB 4178 were also enacted.
MCL 767.24
BACKGROUND:
House Bills 4178, 4179, 4180, 4181, and 4182 are reintroductions of similar bills (HBs 5716,
5717, 5715, 5714, and 5713, respectively) that were passed by the House of Representatives
in the 2021-22 legislative session.
FISCAL INFORMATION:
House Bill 4178 would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on the state and on local units of
government. Under the bill, violations for false representation in assisted reproduction or for a
health professional’s use of another embryo or gamete for assisted reproduction (including
their own human embryo or gamete) without the patient’s knowledge and consent would be
felonies with varying imprisonment terms and fine amounts. New felony convictions would
result in increased costs related to state prisons and state probation supervision. In fiscal year
2022, the average cost of prison incarceration in a state facility was roughly $47,900 per
prisoner, a figure that includes various fixed administrative and operational costs. State costs
for parole and felony probation supervision averaged about $5,000 per supervised offender in
the same year. Those costs are financed with state general fund/general purpose revenue. The
fiscal impact on local court systems would depend on how provisions of the bill affected court
caseloads and related administrative costs. It is difficult to project the actual fiscal impact to
courts due to variables such as law enforcement practices, prosecutorial practices, judicial
discretion, case types, and complexity of cases. Any increase in penal fine revenue would
increase funding for public and county law libraries, which are the constitutionally designated
recipients of those revenues.
House Bill 4179 is a companion bill to HB 4178 and amends sentencing guidelines to include
false representation in assisted reproduction and a health professional’s use of another embryo
or gamete for assisted reproduction (including their own human embryo or gamete) without
the patient’s knowledge and consent. The bill would not have a direct fiscal impact on the state
or on local units of government.
House Bill 4180 would be unlikely to have a significant fiscal impact on any unit of state or
local government. Under the bill, convictions related to providing false or misleading
information regarding an assisted reproduction procedure or final orders or judgments
regarding engaging in false representation in assisted reproduction would be grounds for
House Fiscal Agency HBs 4178 to 4182 as reported Page 5 of 7
 departmental disciplinary action under the Public Health Code. Such disciplinary action could
include action against an individual's license or imposition of restitution or a fine. The impacts
of any fine collections or future losses of revenue from licensure revocation would likely be
negligible, given that violations would be expected to be infrequent.
House Bill 4181 would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on local court systems to the extent
provisions of the bill affected court caseloads and related administrative costs. It is difficult to
project the actual fiscal impact to courts due to variables such as law enforcement practices,
prosecutorial practices, judicial discretion, case types, and complexity of cases.
House Bill 4182 is a companion bill to HB 4178 that would establish a 15-year statute of
limitations provision for an indictment for a violation of either of the prohibitions proposed by
HB 4178 (knowingly, intentionally, or willfully providing false or misleading information
related to an assisted reproduction procedure or a health professional using a human embryo
or gamete for assisted reproduction without consent). House Bill 4182 would not have a direct
or immediate fiscal impact on the state or on local units of government.
ARGUMENTS:
For:
Choosing to pursue pregnancy through an assisted reproduction procedure, such as artificial
insemination or intro vitro fertilization (IVF), is a deeply personal and intimate decision. It is
expensive. Depending on the procedure, patients may need to undergo months of hormone
injections or other medical procedures. Choosing a donor f