Re: PA Appeal Crt/IVF--read
From: Gerald P. Rodríguez (geraldpr@cybermesa.com)
Thu Jul 29 14:44:48 2004
>----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Chudacoff, MD" <rchudacoff@mylinuxisp.com>
To: "Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L" <ob-gyn-l@dns.obgyn.net>
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 11:42 AM
Subject: Re: Pennsylvania State Superior Court Orders Sperm Donor To Pay
Child Support for Twins Conceived Through IVF
> Or, "No good deed is left unpunished."
>
> Richard Chudacoff, MD
>
> A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.
>
> Benjamin Franklin
>
> Heaven grant that the burden you carry may have as easy an exit as it had
an
> entrance.
> [Prayer To A Pregnant Woman]
> -Desiderius Erasmus
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net [mailto:ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net] On Behalf Of Gerald
P.
> Rodríguez
> Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2004 11:54 AM
> To: Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L
> Subject: Re: Pennsylvania State Superior Court Orders Sperm Donor To Pay
> Child Support for Twins Conceived Through IVF
>
> 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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