One year ago, Maia Emmons-Boring was shocked to learn that the Grand Junction fertility doctor who helped her mother get pregnant might be her father.

A year later, her dogged efforts could protect others from the same surprise.

A bipartisan group of Colorado lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bill that would outlaw medical professionals from inseminating patients with their own sperm or eggs without permission. It comes in direct response to allegations this fall against Grand Junction gynecologist Dr. Paul B. Jones, who is accused of using his sperm to impregnate infertile women in his care over three decades.

Colorado joins a growing movement of states around the country moving to explicitly ban the practice, which came to light as DNA testing has grown in popularity. The cases have stunned communities and families, prompting outrage that the acts fell between legal cracks.

“I’m super excited,” Emmons-Boring told The Denver Post after the bill’s introduction. “It’s kind of a relief. There hasn’t been a whole lot within our control since finding out last January. We feel like this is something we have a voice in and can have some control over.”

Rep. Kerry Tipper, a Democrat from Lakewood, spearheaded the legislation, talking to experts and victims such as Emmons-Boring about what a law might look like. She was joined by Rep. Janice Rich, R-Grand Junction, and Sen. Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs.

HB20-1014, “Misuse of Human Reproductive Material,” would make it a Class 6 felony, the lowest felony designation, if health care providers in the course of assisted reproduction used their own eggs or sperm without written consent from the patient. A conviction under the new law would also be considered “unprofessional conduct” under the licensing to practice medicine, while the bill would set compensatory damages in civil action at $50,000.

As a Democrat working on criminal justice issues, Tipper said she didn’t love the idea of creating new crimes. But after consulting with district attorneys, she learned fertility fraud simply didn’t fit well into existing statute.

“When people realize that this kind of behavior is not criminalized, it’s really shocking,” Tipper said. “There’s an appetite to close this gap.”

For Rich, the Jones case hits close to home. The long-time Grand Junction resident lived in town during the time of the doctor’s alleged actions, and she quickly jumped on board when Tipper asked if she would be interested in helping with the bill.

“When I first heard, I was just appalled,” Rich said. “I thought, ‘What a clear violation of trust.'”

The proposed legislation does not go as far as a similar bill in Texas, which classifies an offense as sexual assault and requires offenders register as sex offenders. Emmons-Boring said that was the piece of the bill that she and her “half-siblings” — people with whom she may be related through Jones — didn’t all agree on.

“For me, it was more important that the authored bill would pass,” she said.

Three states — California, Indiana and Texas — have laws specifically related to fertility fraud, while Florida and Delaware are working on legislation this session. Emmons-Boring and some of her half-siblings plan to come to Denver to testify before legislative committees. After helping Texas pass its law last May and working with Tipper on Colorado’s bill, Emmons-Boring has found a new calling.

“It’s definitely been a crash course,” she said. “But it’s really exciting. It’s opened my eyes that an average American can get involved and make these changes.”

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