Bill
HB 5035
Creates a private civil action for harms from false representation in assisted reproduction, with damages, fees, and punitive options tied to HB 5036.
Status and sponsors
- Introduced Sept. 24, 2025 by Rep. John R. Roth (co-sponsors: Tisdel, Steckloff, St. Germaine, Schmaltz, Johnsen, Wozniak, BeGole, Borton).
- Filed March 13, 2025; read a first time and referred to the Committee on Families and Veterans on Sept. 24, 2025.
- The bill would add section 2980 to the Revised Judicature Act (1961 PA 236, MCL 600.101–600.9947).
- Enactment is conditioned on passage of HB 5036 (tie-bar).
Purpose
- Create a private civil cause of action for harms caused by “false representation in assisted reproduction,” as defined in HB 5036 (criminal code provision). The bill aims to provide monetary remedies and other relief to individuals harmed when incorrect, misleading, or wrongful representations or substitutions occur in assisted reproduction procedures.
Key provisions
- New civil liability (MCL 600.2980): a person who engages in “false representation in assisted reproduction” is liable to injured individuals for:
- Economic and noneconomic damages;
- Punitive damages; and
- Reasonable attorney fees and costs.
- Eligible plaintiffs (examples listed):
- The patient who gives birth to a child conceived through assisted reproduction affected by the false representation;
- The patient’s spouse at the time of the assisted reproduction;
- An individual conceived through the assisted reproduction at issue; and
- A donor whose gamete or embryo resulted in the birth as a result of the false representation.
- Multiple claims: a separate cause of action exists for each child born as a result of the false representation.
- Statute of limitations: actions must be brought no later than 3 years after the plaintiff discovers the false representation.
- Relationship to criminal law/definitions: “False representation in assisted reproduction” and terms such as “gamete,” “human embryo,” and “patient” are defined by the criminal provision proposed in HB 5036 (MCL 750.219g).
- Cumulative remedies: civil action is in addition to any other criminal or civil penalties available under law.
- Scope of “person”: includes individuals and business entities (partnerships, corporations, LLCs, associations, etc.).
Who would be affected
- Patients and intended parents using assisted reproduction services; their spouses; persons conceived via assisted reproduction; gamete/embryo donors.
- Health professionals, fertility clinics, laboratories, and corporate entities involved in assisted reproduction (could face civil liability and exposure to punitive damages and fee awards if HB 5036’s criminal definitions/standards are satisfied and HB 5036 is enacted).
Procedural/timing notes
- The bill will not take effect unless HB 5036 is enacted (tie-bar). HB 5036 contains the criminal definitions and prohibitions that this civil cause of action references.
- Statute of limitations uses a discovery rule: 3 years from discovery of the false representation.
Context and related legislation
- HB 5035 is part of a package addressing reproductive-assistance fraud: HB 5036 (creates criminal offenses for false representations and unauthorized use of embryos/gametes), HB 5038 (sentencing guidelines), and HB 5039 (disciplinary/licensure consequences for health professionals). Together they create parallel criminal, civil, and professional-discipline pathways.
Potential implications
- Expands private remedies for victims of fertility-related misrepresentations or gamete/embryo mix-ups; may increase litigation risk for clinics and practitioners.
- Links civil remedies to criminal definitions in HB 5036, so the scope of liability will depend on that bill’s final language and standards of proof.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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