Arnold & Porter’s Pro Bono Work Featured in The Wall Street Journal

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal highlighted Arnold & Porter’s pro bono work in a case regarding the right of parents to choose the sperm donor for their children and the right of gay men to donate sperm. Working with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Arnold & Porter partner Howard Sklamberg, senior counsel Rosalyn Richter, and associates Kasia Foster and Sam Ferenc represented Caroline and Suzanne Currie, a same-sex couple that was told they could no longer use their chosen donor because he did not meet the US Food and Drug Administration’s requirements regarding the donation of sperm. Currently, men are prohibited from donating sperm if they have engaged in intercourse with other men within the past five years.

In a filing with FDA, Arnold & Porter and Orrick argued that the agency should exempt the Curries and the sperm bank they used from FDA’s policy because application of the policy had no public health justification and prohibited the Curries from choosing the father of future children. In July 2021, the Curries were notified that they could use their chosen donor. The Wall Street Journal said the FDA will review donor eligibility rules sometime this year.

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