Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Kansas: Sperm Donor Must Support Lesbians' Child

Responding to an advertisement, Topeka resident William Marotta provided his sperm, free of charge, to lesbians Angela Bauer and Jennifer Schreiner in 2009.  Now, after the lesbians have separated, Schreiner has sought public aid for her daughter (age 3), but Kansas insists that the non-regulated exchange of sperm makes the donor-father subject to child support.  Marotta, a proclaimed liberal who supports same-sex parenting, believes the Republican-dominated state government is persecuting everyone involved in the immoral debacle -- making those who created the problem pay to solve it, rather than the taxpayers.



-- From "Kansas Wants Sperm Donor to Pay Child Support" by Christina Ng, ABC News 1/1/13

Marotta and his wife met with the [lesbians] and he agreed to donate to them . . . All three signed a sperm donor contract that stated that he would have no paternal rights and would be in no way responsible for any child that resulted from the donation.

"Jennifer and Angie further agree to indemnify William and hold him harmless for any child support payments demanded of him by any other person or entity, public or private, including any district attorney's office or other state or county agency, regardless of the circumstances or said demand," the agreement read.

Marotta donated and Schreiner gave birth to a little girl through artificial insemination, according to court documents. The issue that would later become a legal factor, however, is that the artificial insemination was not performed by a licensed physician . . .

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Kansas Presses Sperm Donor for Child Support" by Makini Brice, Medical Daily 12/31/12

Angela Bauer, 40 years old, and Jennifer Schreiner, 34 years old, have eight children together, many of whom are adopted, ranging in age from 25 years to 3 months. . . .

Bauer and Schreiner have since separated, but they continue to co-parent their children. At the time of the [sperm] transaction, they were financially stable enough for Schreiner to stay at home with their children. Since then, Bauer suffered from what she described as a debilitating illness that has meant that she is unable to work and has been in and out of rehabilitation.

The couple applied for financial assistance to support their family. The state responded by refusing to give further healthcare assistance unless they provided the name of their sperm donor. They reluctantly did so, leading Kansas to pursue Marotta for child support for the couple's three-year-old daughter.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Topeka sperm donor: Child support case politically motivated" by Tim Hrenchir, Topeka Capital-Journal 12/31/12

Angela de Rocha, spokeswoman for the DCF, said Monday the department is proceeding with the case the way state law requires.

She said: “Speaking generally, all individuals who apply for taxpayer-funded benefits through DCF are asked to cooperate with child support enforcement efforts. If a sperm donor makes his ‘contribution’ through a licensed physician and a child is conceived, the donor is held harmless under state statue. In cases where the parties do not go through a physician or a clinic, there remains the question of who actually is the father of a child or children. DCF is required by statute to establish paternity and then pursue child support from the noncustodial parent.”

[Marotta] said: “It’s my understanding that (Bauer) told the department of child services right off the bat, ‘I will be financially responsible for this’ and they in essence told her, ‘No, get lost. You’re not part of this.’ And when somebody’s willing to say ‘Hold it a minute, I’m the one who’s responsible for this’ and another agency says ‘No, get lost,’ whether it’s bureaucratic politics or something more than that — it’s a Republican state, yeah, I think it’s politics.”

Marotta said the degree of national media attention the case has drawn didn’t surprise him because it combines the social issues of same-sex couples, adoptions and sperm donor rights “all wrapped into one.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.