South Carolina S 431: Donor Statute

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 431 Text of Previous Version (Mar. 06, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 431

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING 
SECTION 63-3-530, RELATING TO JURISDICTION IN DOMESTIC MATTERS, SO AS TO 
PROVIDE THAT THE FAMILY COURT HAS EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION TO HEAR AND DETERMINE 
ACTIONS FOR ASSISTED REPRODUCTION PARENTAL RIGHTS; BY AMENDING SECTION 
63-17-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO UPDATE DEFINITIONS TO INCLUDE 
PARENTAGE RELATED TO ASSISTED REPRODUCTION; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-17-20, 
RELATING TO JURISDICTION, SO AS TO PROVIDE CONFORMING LANGUAGE; AND BY AMENDING 
SECTION 63-17-40, RELATING TO SETTLEMENT AND VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS, SO AS TO 
PROVIDE CONFORMING LANGUAGE.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 63-3-530(A)(5) of the S.C. Code is amended to 
read:

 (5) (Reserved)to hear and determine actions for the establishment of parental 
rights, whether such action is in connection with an adoption or apart 
therefrom, including determinations of parental rights in connection with 
assisted reproduction;

SECTION 2. Section 63-17-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
63-17-10. (A) The purpose of this 
article is to establish a procedure to aid in the determination of the 
paternity of an individual.

 (B) As used in this article:

 (1) "Assisted reproduction" means 
conception by any means other than sexual intercourse pursuant to a written 
assisted reproduction agreement consent form.

 (B)(2) As 
used in this article, "child" "Child" includes, 
but is not limited to, a person under the age of eighteen years.

 (3) "Donor" means an individual who 
donates their sperm or ova, for the purpose of assisting an intended parent, 
who is not their spouse, in conceiving a child through the use of assisted 
reproduction. Said donation of genetic material must have been provided to a 
licensed physician or a licensed sperm or ova bank.

 (4) "Intended parent" means an 
individual who manifests the written intent to be legally bound as the parent 
through assisted reproduction.

 (C) An 
action to establish the paternity of an individual may be brought by:

 (1) 
a child;

 (2) 
the natural mother of a child;

 (3) 
any person in whose care a child has been placed;

 (4) 
an authorized agency, including, but not limited to, the Department of Social 
Services, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 5 of Title 43, and any other 
person or agency pursuant to the provisions of Sections 63-3-550 and 
63-17-340; or

 (5) 
a person who claims to be the father of a child.

 (D) If an action is brought 
under this article prior to the birth of a child, all proceedings must be 
stayed until after the birth of the child except the service of a summons and 
the taking of depositions or other discovery procedures.

 (D) An action under this article may be 
brought and an order may be entered before the birth, provided the enforcement 
of that order shall be stayed until the birth.

 (E) Whenever 
an action threatens to make a child illegitimate, the presumed legal father and 
the putative natural father must be made parties respondents to the action. A 
child under the age of eighteen years must be represented by a guardian ad 
litem appointed by the court. Neither the mother nor the presumed or putative 
father of the child may represent him as guardian ad litem.

SECTION 3. Section 63-17-20 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
63-17-20. (A) Any person who has 
sexual intercourse in this State or causes conception 
through the use of assisted reproduction with the intent to become a legal 
parent in this State or who enters into a written assisted reproduction 
agreement in this State thereby submits to the jurisdiction of the 
courts of this State as to an action brought under this article with respect to 
a child who may have been conceived by that act of intercourse or assisted reproduction. In addition to any other 
method provided by law, personal jurisdiction may be acquired by service of 
process outside this State in the manner authorized by the provisions of 
Section 36-2-806.

 (B) 
Unless the court orders otherwise, the custody of an illegitimate child is 
solely in the natural mother unless the mother has relinquished her rights to 
the child. If paternity has been acknowledged or adjudicated, the father may 
petition the court for rights of visitation or custody in a proceeding before 
the court apart from an action to establish paternity.

 (C) 
All actions commenced under this article must be dealt with as separate 
proceedings before the court without a jury. The general public is to be 
excluded from these proceedings and only those persons whom the judge finds to 
have a direct