PENNA. COURT RULES SPERM DONOR MUST PAY CHILD SUPPORT: From the Associated Press

In a case that bioethicists say could have wide implications, the state Superior Court invalidated a verbal agreement between a woman and her sperm donor and ordered him to pay child support for twin boys born nearly 10 years ago.

A three-judge panel said the deal between Joel L. McKiernan and Ivonne V. Ferguson that he would not be obligated for any child support was "on its face" a valid contract, but it was unenforceable due to "legal, equitable and moral principles." Previous state appellate rulings had determined that parents may not bargain away a child's right to support.

"We agree with the trial court, 'although we find (Ferguson's) actions despicable and give (McKiernan) a sympathetic hue, it is the interest of the children we hold most dear,'" wrote Senior Judge Patrick R. Tamalia in a ruling issued Thursday.

The decision should give pause to sperm and egg donors who expect anonymity, said Arthur Caplan, a professor and medical ethicist at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Anybody who is a sperm donor ought to understand that their identity could be made known to any child that's produced and they could be seen by the courts as the best place to go to make sure the child has adequate financial support," Caplan said Friday.

Ferguson and McKiernan met while working together at Pennsylvania Blue Shield in Harrisburg and had a two-year affair that had "waned" by late 1993, when Ferguson convinced him to act as a sperm donor with no responsibility for any child born as a result, according to the trial judge's written opinion.
Ferguson, who separated from her husband in 1992, maintains that McKiernan was a willing partner in the in-vitro fertilization.

"We have challenged all along that there was ever any agreement. There was no evidence except his word and her word and it was a matter of credibility," said Ferguson's lawyer, Elizabeth Hoffman.

The twins were born prematurely in August 1994. Ferguson filed for support nearly five years later.

McKiernan has been paying up to $1,520 a month in support since losing the Dauphin County case. Since the twins were born, he has married, had two children and moved to the Pittsburgh area. ...

An estimated 150,000 to 200,000 artificial inseminations are performed each year in the United States, said Dr. Cappy Rothman, co-director of the California Cryobank.

At least 19 states, but not Pennsylvania, have adopted a version of the Uniform Parentage Act, ensuring that sperm donors cannot be forced to take on the responsibilities of active fatherhood.

In Washington, one of the 19 states to adopt the law, an appeals court upheld the law earlier this year, ruling that donors do not have child-support obligations unless there is a signed contract to that effect. On the other hand, a Swedish court ruled in 2002 that a man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple who later split up was obliged to support their three children.

It's unclear what effect the Superior Court decision could have on sperm banks. Christine Jordan, laboratory supervisor for Pittsburgh Cryobank Inc., said government regulations require them to maintain identifying records indefinitely.

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decision is here (PDF)

posted by Eve at 10:53 PM VOTE

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