Colorado § 13-21-132 Civil liability for misuse of gametes - definitions

Colorado Statutes

§ 13-21-132 — Civil liability for misuse of gametes - definitions

Colorado § 13-21-132

Title 13Courts

Art.Damages

This text of Colorado § 13-21-132 (Civil liability for misuse of gametes - definitions) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-21-132 (2026).

Text

(1)As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a)Assisted reproduction means a method of causing pregnancy through means other than by sexual intercourse. Assisted reproduction includes, but is not limited to:

(I)Intrauterine or intracervical insemination;

(II)Donation of eggs or sperm;

(III)Donation of embryos;

(IV)In vitro fertilization and embryo transfer; and

(V)Intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

(b)Donor means an individual who expressly provides consent to provide donated eggs, sperm, or embryos for a patient for assisted reproduction.

(c)Gametes means one or more cells containing a haploid complement of DNA that has the potential to form an embryo when combined with another gamete. Sperm and eggs are gametes. A gamete may consist of nuclear

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

(1) As used in
this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) Assisted reproduction means a method of causing pregnancy through
means other than by sexual intercourse. Assisted reproduction includes, but is not
limited to:

(I) Intrauterine or intracervical insemination;

(II) Donation of eggs or sperm;

(III) Donation of embryos;

(IV) In vitro fertilization and embryo transfer; and

(V) Intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

(b) Donor means an individual who expressly provides consent to provide
donated eggs, sperm, or embryos for a patient for assisted reproduction.

(c) Gametes means one or more cells containing a haploid complement of
DNA that has the potential to form an embryo when combined with another gamete.
Sperm and eggs are gametes. A gamete may consist of nuclear DNA from one
human being combined with the cytoplasm, including cytoplasmic DNA, of another
human being.

(d) Health care provider means any individual who is authorized to practice
some component of the healing arts by license, certificate, or registration pursuant
to title 12.

(2) Any of the following may bring an action against a health care provider
who, in the course of performing or assisting an assisted reproduction procedure on
a patient, knowingly uses gametes from a donor that the patient did not expressly
consent to the use of that donor's gametes:

(a) A patient who gives birth to a child after being treated through assisted
reproduction by the health care provider;

(b) A spouse or partner of a patient described in subsection (2)(a) of this
section;

(c) A surviving spouse or partner of a patient described in subsection (2)(a) of
this section; or

(d) A child born as a result of the actions of the health care provider.

(3) A plaintiff who prevails in an action pursuant to this section is entitled to
reasonable attorney fees and either:

(a) All damages reasonably necessary to compensate the plaintiff for any
injuries suffered as a result of the health care provider's actions, including but not
limited to emotional or mental distress; or

(b) Liquidated damages of fifty thousand dollars.

(4) A person who brings an action pursuant to subsection (2) of this section
has a separate cause of action for each child born as the result of the assisted
reproduction procedure.

(5) Nothing in this section prohibits a person from pursuing any other remedy
provided by law.