2023 Maine Revised Statutes › TITLE 19-A: DOMESTIC RELATIONS › Part 3: PARENTS AND CHILDREN › Chapter 61: MAINE PARENTAGE ACT › Subchapter 1: SHORT TITLE, SCOPE, DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS › 19-A §1832. Definitions

§1832. Definitions
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
1.  Acknowledged parent.
"Acknowledged parent" means a person who has established parentage under subchapter 3.
[PL 2021, c. 610, §1 (AMD).]
2.  Adjudicated parent.
"Adjudicated parent" means a person who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be the parent of a child.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
3.  Assisted reproduction.
"Assisted reproduction" means a method of causing pregnancy other than sexual intercourse and includes but is not limited to:
A. Intrauterine or vaginal insemination;   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
B. Donation of gametes;   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
C. Donation of embryos;   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
D. In vitro fertilization and transfer of embryos; and   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
E. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection.   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
4.  Child.
"Child" means an individual of any age whose parentage may be determined under this chapter.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
5.  Donor.
"Donor" means a person who contributes a gamete or gametes or an embryo or embryos to another person for assisted reproduction or gestation, whether or not for consideration.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
6.  Embryo.
"Embryo" means a cell or group of cells containing a diploid complement of chromosomes or a group of such cells, not including a gamete, that has the potential to develop into a live born human being if transferred into the body of a woman under conditions in which gestation may be reasonably expected to occur.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
7.  Gamete.
"Gamete" means a cell containing a haploid complement of deoxyribonucleic acid that has the potential to form an embryo when combined with another gamete. "Gamete" includes:
A. Sperm;   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
B. Eggs; and   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
C. Deoxyribonucleic acid from one human being combined with the cytoplasm, including without limitation cytoplasmic deoxyribonucleic acid, of another human being.   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
8.  Genetic population group.
"Genetic population group" means, for purposes of genetic testing, a recognized group that an individual identifies as all or part of the individual's ancestry or that is so identified by other information.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
9.  Genetic testing.
"Genetic testing" means an analysis of genetic markers to exclude or identify a man as the genetic father or a woman as the genetic mother of a child. "Genetic testing" includes an analysis of one or a combination of the following:
A. Deoxyribonucleic acid;   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
B. Blood group antigens, red cell antigens, human leukocyte antigens, serum enzymes, serum proteins or red cell enzymes; or   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
C. Genetic markers other than those in paragraphs A and B.   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
10.  Gestational carrier.
"Gestational carrier" means an adult woman who is not an intended parent and who enters into a gestational carrier agreement to bear a child conceived using the gametes of other persons and not her own, except that a woman who carries a child for a family member using her own gametes and who fulfills the requirements of subchapter 8 is a gestational carrier.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
11.  Gestational carrier agreement.
"Gestational carrier agreement" means a contract between an intended parent or parents and a gestational carrier intended to result in a live birth.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
12.  Intended parent.
"Intended parent" means a person, married or unmarried, who manifests the intent to be legally bound as the parent of a child resulting from assisted reproduction or a gestational carrier agreement. In the case of a married couple, any reference to an intended parent includes both spouses for all purposes of this chapter.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
13.  Parent.
"Parent" means an individual who has established parentage that meets the requirements of this chapter.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
14.  Parentage.
"Parentage" means the legal relationship between a child and a parent as established in this chapter.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
15.  Paternity or maternity index.
"Paternity or maternity index" means, with respect to a person who has undergone genetic testing, the likelihood of genetic paternity or maternity calculated by computing the ratio between:
A. The likelihood that the tested person is the genetic father or genetic mother based on the genetic markers of the tested person, birth mother and child and conditioned on the hypothesis that the tested person is the father or mother of the child; and   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
B. The likelihood that the tested person is not the genetic father or genetic mother based on the genetic markers of the tested person, birth mother and child and conditioned on the hypothesis that the tested person is not the genetic father or genetic mother of the child.   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
16.  Presumed parent.
"Presumed parent" means a person who pursuant to section 1881 is recognized as the parent of a child.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
17.  Probability of paternity; probability of maternity.
"Probability of paternity" and "probability of maternity" mean the measure, for the genetic population group to which the alleged genetic father or genetic mother belongs, of the probability that the person in question is the genetic father or genetic mother of the child compared with a random, unrelated person of the same genetic population group and expressed as a percentage incorporating the paternity or maternity index and a prior probability.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
18.  Record.
"Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
19.  Sign.
"Sign" means, with the intent to authenticate or adopt a record, to:
A. Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
B. Attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound or process.   [PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
20.  Signatory.
"Signatory" means an individual who signs a record and is bound by its terms.
[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. A, §1 (NEW). PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF). PL 2021, c. 610, §1 (AMD).