Re: Pennsylvania State Superior Court Orders Sperm Donor To Pay Child Support for Twins Conceived Through IVF
From: Gerald P. Rodríguez (geraldpr@cybermesa.com)
Thu Jul 29 11:53:11 2004
Once again, proving the old saw: "Never show a decent impulse," or, "Never
give a sucker an even break."
Gerald P. Rodríguez, M.D., FACOG
Santa Fe
>----- Original Message -----
From: dean@thehuffpeople.net
To: "Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L" <ob-gyn-l@dns.obgyn.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 9:14 AM
Subject: Pennsylvania State Superior Court Orders Sperm Donor To Pay Child
Support for Twins Conceived Through IVF
> .
>
> In The Courts
>
> Pennsylvania State Superior Court Orders Sperm Donor To Pay Child Support
for
> Twins Conceived Through IVF
>
> [Jul 27, 2004]
>
> A three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania State Superior Court on Thursday
in a
> ruling that could have "wide implications" for sperm and egg donors
ordered a
> sperm donor to pay child support to the mother of twin boys conceived
through
> in vitro fertilization using his sperm, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer
reports.
> Joel McKiernan acted as a sperm donor for Ivonne Ferguson in 1993 under an
oral
> agreement that McKiernan would have no responsibility for any child born
as a
> result of the IVF procedure, according to the written opinion of Senior
Judge
> Patrick Tamalia. Ferguson gave birth to twin boys in August 1994 and filed
for
> child support from McKiernan approximately five years later. Ferguson said
that
> McKiernan was a "willing partner" in the procedure, according to the
> AP/Inquirer. The three-judge panel said that the agreement between
Ferguson and
> McKiernan that released him from any obligation to provide support was a
valid
> contract "on its face" but was unenforceable because of "legal, equitable
and
> moral principles," according to the AP/Inquirer. The state appellate court
> previously has ruled that parents cannot make arrangements that give up 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," Tamalia wrote in the
ruling.
> The ruling "should give pause" to sperm and egg donors who expect
anonymity,
> according to Arthur Caplan, 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. At least 19 states -- but not
Pennsylvania --
> have adopted a version of the Uniform Parentage Act, which ensures sperm
donors
> cannot be "forced to take on the responsibilities of active fatherhood,"
> according to the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer (Scolforo, AP/Philadelphia
Inquirer,
> 7/25).
>
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