HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Experts say a Kansas man put himself in a precarious legal position by donating sperm to a lesbian couple who didn't work with a doctor.
Under Kansas law, a sperm donor isn't the father of a child if a doctor handles the artificial insemination. But the law doesn't specifically address the donor's obligations when no doctor is involved.
William Marotta helped the Topeka couple in 2009. But since a doctor wasn't used, the state says the agreement the three signed severing Marotta's parental rights isn't valid and that Marotta should pay child support.
Corey Whelan, who helps lesbian couples interested in having children, says avoiding professionals is "a buyer-beware proposition."
Attorneys acknowledge money is a factor, because artificial insemination is expensive, but they say it sets up tricky legal situations.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Original story below:
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A sperm donor in Kansas is fighting a state effort to force him to pay child support for a child conceived through artificial insemination by a lesbian couple.
Forty-six-year-old William Marotta told The Topeka Capital-Journal he's "a little scared about where this is going to go, primarily for financial reasons."
When he donated sperm to Angela Bauer and Jennifer Schreiner in 2009, Marotta relinquished all parental rights, including financial responsibility to the child. When Bauer and Schreiner filed for state assistance this year, the state demanded the donor's name so it could collect child support for the now 3-year-old girl.
The state contends the agreement between Marotta and the women is not valid because Kansas law requires a licensed physician to perform artificial insemination.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
