Rainbow bLAWg

A Kansas man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple is the legal father of their daughter and must pay child support, a court has ruled. The donor, William Marotta answered an ad asking for donated sperm on Craigslist in March of 2009. Shawnee County District Court Judge Mary Mattivi ruled that Marotta must pay child support even though he and the biological mother of the child signed a contract waiving his parental rights.

The judge said that the couple failed to conform to Kansas law which says a licensed physician must be involved in an artificial insemination procedure at home. “A parent may not terminate parental rights by contract even when the parties have consented,” she ruled.

Ben Swinnen, a lawyer for Mr Marotta, said his client had only been trying to help a couple who wanted a child and he would appeal the ruling. Said Marotta, “I donated genetic material, and that was it.” Seeing the ad, he said he was ‘intrigued,’ and delivered three cupfuls of his sperm – free of charge — to the women. One of the women gave birth to a daughter in 2009.

The couple has since broke up, but when one of them stopped working due to illness and sought state benefits, the state petitioned to have Marotta declared the child’s father and financially responsible.

Kansas is among numerous states with laws that require physicians to be involved with artificial insemination, but other states have found legal ways to protect the father from financial obligations. The moral of the story is to research the law before you enter into a legal agreement.

FYI, if you live in a state that requires that a physician attend the artificial insemination procedure in order for the sperm donor to be free from future support obligations, Rainbow Law’s sperm donor contract includes the requisite language and signature designation.

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Carrie Stone