Sperm donor liable for child support, judge rules

Mrs Behavin

Mrs Behavin

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MELVILLE, N.Y. — A New York man who said he donated sperm to a female co-worker as a friendly gesture and sent presents and cards to the child over the years likely will owe child support for the college-bound teenager, according to a judge's ruling.
"What's the saying? No good deed goes unpunished," said Deborah Kelly, a Garden City lawyer for the man, who like all the involved parties remains anonymous because of privacy concerns.
Family Court Judge Ellen Greenberg ruled Nov. 16 that despite the mother's willingness to have the child's DNA tested, the man could not seek a paternity test to determine if he is the biological father because the results could have a "traumatic effect" upon the child, who is now 18 and lives in Oregon with the mother.
The next step is a meeting with a support magistrate to determine the amount of child-support payments — if any — the man would have to pay until the child turns 21, Kelly said.
Even without genetic evidence, the man's interactions with the child over the years had a patriarchal nature, said Jeffrey Herbst, a county attorney who represents the mother in the lawsuit through a federal agreement called the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act.
"It's still a parental relationship," Herbst said.
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read the rest of the story here Nation & World | Sperm donor liable for child support, judge rules | Seattle Times Newspaper
 
The way I read this article is that he was a donor... which means he bears no responsibility... but then he decided to be part of the child's life and that's why they are considering this. You can't be a donor, then be a part of the child's life, then decide you don't want to be anymore and claim you are only a donor... you can't have it both ways

It doesn't look like they are trying to redefine what a donors responsibility is... but if this guy is going to step up and take on a bigger role in this child's life, then he may be responsible for more since he's no longer just a donor...

Hell, there would be thousands of guys claiming they were only donors if that's all it took to get out of child support.
 
RecklessTim said:
The way I read this article is that he was a donor... which means he bears no responsibility... but then he decided to be part of the child's life and that's why they are considering this. You can't be a donor, then be a part of the child's life, then decide you don't want to be anymore and claim you are only a donor... you can't have it both ways

It doesn't look like they are trying to redefine what a donors responsibility is... but if this guy is going to step up and take on a bigger role in this child's life, then he may be responsible for more since he's no longer just a donor...

Hell, there would be thousands of guys claiming they were only donors if that's all it took to get out of child support.
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THat is actually true. In Spain the babies can't know about their bilogical parents and neither can the biological parents know about the baby (when it comes to donating sperms and eggs)
 
RecklessTim said:
The way I read this article is that he was a donor... which means he bears no responsibility... but then he decided to be part of the child's life and that's why they are considering this. You can't be a donor, then be a part of the child's life, then decide you don't want to be anymore and claim you are only a donor... you can't have it both ways

It doesn't look like they are trying to redefine what a donors responsibility is... but if this guy is going to step up and take on a bigger role in this child's life, then he may be responsible for more since he's no longer just a donor...

Hell, there would be thousands of guys claiming they were only donors if that's all it took to get out of child support.
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I seriously take offense to this statement. I am on the opposite side of this where the mother of my son does not pay a cent to child support but has been ordered to. I have custody and have since he was 4.
 
AllVenom said:
I seriously take offense to this statement. I am on the opposite side of this where the mother of my son does not pay a cent to child support but has been ordered to. I have custody and have since he was 4.
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But you read into this deeper than you needed... I never inferred that it was all men... I was only referring to those idiot fathers who don't pay and would do anything to get out of it.
 
RecklessTim said:
But you read into this deeper than you needed... I never inferred that it was all men... I was only referring to those idiot fathers who don't pay and would do anything to get out of it.
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I was mainly joking anyway ;) Your right, there are tens of thousands of poor excuses for fathers out there that give us good ones the bad name. :)
 
RecklessTim said:
Is that the case though? Do you really think the courts would award child support if that was the case? I think there is a lot more here than the article covers.
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I would tend to agree with you Tim. It would take a lot to show that someone was providing parental attention to a child. If gifts or b-day cards were all it took, hell, my father would have been a great dad.
 
I mean I could be totally wrong... :dunno

It's just that there is a very high probability that we aren't getting the whole story... and that's why we have courts...

The only thing I would add... I hope the courts make the right decision, what ever it may be.
 
Wow that is stupid...

One thing kinda got me though and no matter how hard i tried to read the story seriously this line kept popping back up in my head

"he donated sperm to a female co-worker as a friendly gesture"

Who just gives Sperm to fellow co workers???
"oh you want some sperm, here i have some" *shrugs*
 
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