Existing law makes it a felony for anyone to knowingly use sperm, ova, or embryos in assisted reproduction technology for any purpose other than that indicated by the sperm, ova, or embryo provider's signature on a written consent form, and to knowingly implant sperm, ova, or embryos, through the use of assisted reproduction technology, into a recipient who is not the sperm, ova, or embryo provider, without the signed written consent of the sperm, ova, or embryo provider and recipient.
California AB 556 (20212022) — Misuse of sperm, ova, or embryos: damages.
Existing law makes it a felony for anyone to knowingly use sperm, ova, or embryos in assisted reproduction technology for any purpose other than that indicated by the sperm, ova, or embryo provider's signature on a written consent form, and to knowingly implant sperm, ova, or embryos, through the use of assisted reproduction technology, into a recipient who is not the sperm, ova, or embryo provider, without the signed written consent of the sperm, ova, or embryo provider and recipient.
Version chain
The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — 11–0 (pass) · upper
Sponsors
Maienschein — primary (person)
Timeline
The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
2021-02-11 Read first time. To print. reading-1
2021-02-12 From printer. May be heard in committee March 14.
2021-02-18 Referred to Com. on JUD. referral-committee
2021-03-23 From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 10. Noes 1.) (March 23). committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable
2021-03-24 Read second time. Ordered to third reading. reading-1, reading-2
2021-04-05 Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 68. Noes 0. Page 860.) passage, reading-1, reading-3
2021-04-05 In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. reading-1
2021-05-12 Referred to Coms. on JUD. and APPR. referral-committee
2021-06-08 From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee
2021-06-21 In committee: Referred to APPR suspense file. referral-committee
2021-08-26 From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 26). committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable
2021-08-26 Read second time. Ordered to third reading. reading-1, reading-2
2021-09-01 Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 2294.). passage, reading-1, reading-3
2021-09-01 In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. committee-passage
2021-09-08 Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4:30 p.m.
2021-09-16 Approved by the Governor. executive-signature
2021-09-16 Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 170, Statutes of 2021. became-law
Source
OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/8526b047-a470-43c9-811d-b133e7287ff6. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).