Ontario sperm donor and lesbian couple in dispute, settle out of court

A sperm donor and lesbian couple from Ontario Canada who have been fighting over custody of their two year old son, have suddenly settled their case, after months of litigation and shortly before a scheduled trial. The man had signed an agreement that he would have nothing to do with his genetic offspring. But he had second thoughts after the baby was born, felt the biological mother had reneged on her part of their deal and asked the courts to recognize him as the father, providing liberal access. The suit, whose parties cannot be named under the terms of a publication ban, has now been effectively withdrawn. ‘It is always better for litigants to come to a resolution on their own’ “This is certainly the right outcome for this loving, bonded and stable family,” Michelle Flowerday, the couple’s lawyer, said in an emailed statement. “It is always better for litigants to come to a resolution on their own, as opposed to having one imposed upon them by the court.” The fact that the courts will not rule on the dispute, however, leaves a gap in the law in Ontario and other provinces, she said. There is a growing national movement to make clear that donating sperm does not equate to being a parent, but only B.C., Alberta and Quebec have enshrined the idea in their legislation, said Ms. Flowerday. The donor and his lawyer could not be reached for comment. Growing numbers of children are being born in Canada as a result of in-vitro fertilization and other forms of “assisted” reproduction. When donations are obtained anonymously from sperm banks, and in the few provinces with laws that directly address the issue, parenthood is generally uncontested. Where couples and single people make arrangements with sperm donors they know, however, the rights of the various parties remain largely unresolved. The northern Ontario dispute boasted the most clear-cut set of facts of any to reach the courts, making it an ideal legal testing ground. A trial was scheduled for this summer. The donor was a high-school acquaintance of the biological mother, and initially agreed to bear a child for him, as well, if he agreed to provide his sperm. The actual agreement he signed, though, did not mention that part of their arrangement. He went to court after the boy was born, saying that he had felt pressured by the mother and that she now appeared unwilling to have a baby for him. But then, at a meeting last week, the parties agreed to a declaration that the two women are the child’s parents and the donor is not his father, according to an order issued by Justice Gregory Ellies of the Ontario Superior Court. ‘I don’t think anybody wants to be a test case’ The document also includes a restraining order preventing him from having contact with the child or the two women. In exchange, though, he and his parents have the right to one meeting of at least an hour in a public place, with an agreed-upon third party observing. The donor and his parents “may not initiate physical contact” with the boy, and cannot take photographs or video. As well, the man and his parents are barred from identifying themselves as the child’s father or grandparents, said the order. “I don’t think anybody wants to be a test case,” noted Fiona Kelly, a University of British Columbia law professor who studies the field, about the settlement. The lack of a ruling, however, means continued ambiguity in the majority of provinces that lack laws like one recently enacted in B.C., she said. That legislation says being a sperm donor does not in itself make someone a father. Article: 13th April 2013 www.news.nationalpost.com Read more about using a known sperm donor in the UK at www.prideangel.com

Canadian sperm donor refused access to 18 month toddler until trial

The potential risk of introducing a Northern Ontario toddler to his genetic father at this point in his life is too major to be ignored, a judge has ruled in turning down a sperm donor’s bid for interim access to the boy, now being raised by his biological mother and her lesbian partner. The decision marks the first round in a key test case of the uncertain law around exchanges of human sperm and egg, as increasing numbers of Canadian children are born by “assisted” reproduction. A full trial is scheduled for this October to consider the man’s demand for paternity rights – and add some clarity to the tangled issue – but Rene deBlois had requested access to the boy pending the final wrap-up of the case. The two women had argued that Tyler Lavigne, who has never met Mr. deBlois, might become confused and insecure if the 22-month-old encountered the donor now, noted Justice Norman Karam of the Ontario Superior Court in Cochrane, Ont. “Despite the child’s young age, it is impossible to know what disclosure of [Mr. deBlois’s] status as his parent might mean,” said the judge. “All circumstances considered, the risk of there being an adverse effect to the child is too great to ignore.” Justice Karam said he considered imposing limitations on the access to deal with those concerns, but decided the restrictions would be virtually impossible to enforce. He said he also found “very convincing” the couple’s argument that by allowing access to the child now, he could inadvertently affect the outcome of the trial, expected to be closely watched by legal analysts, parent groups and others. Selena Kazimierski and Nicole Lavigne say the donor – a former high-school acquaintance of Ms. Lavigne – signed an agreement that he would never contact the baby born in October, 2010, with the help of his artificially inseminated sperm. They fear the family life they have built for their son would be unduly disrupted if he that changed. The donor says he no longer honours the deal, partly because Ms. Lavigne failed to follow through on her verbal commitment to have a baby for him, too. It is common sense to delay creating a relationship between a child and a stranger unless there is a guarantee that the relationship will continue Legal experts say the case offers up a relatively straightforward set of facts, allowing the court to directly tackle a question overhanging many such arrangements. Growing numbers of children are being born in Canada as a result of in-vitro fertilization and other forms of assisted reproduction, often to same-sex couples. When donations are obtained anonymously from sperm banks, and in the few provinces with relevant laws, parenthood is generally uncontested. In situations where couples and single people make arrangements with sperm donors they know, however – especially in provinces that lack such legislation – the rights of the various parties remain largely unresolved. A smattering of mostly lower-court rulings have addressed the question, but most of the cases have had complicating factors, such as a past relationship between the donor and recipient. Lucia Mendonca, Mr. deBlois’s lawyer, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Ms. Lavigne voiced relief at the ruling on interim access, saying it would have been too disruptive for everyone to allow the genetic father and son to meet, when the trial might rule Mr. deBlois has no paternity rights. “It would …. just cause pain on all sides,” she said. “It would be hard on him, if he got attached, and now ‘You’re never going to see him again.’ ” The decision correctly analyzed the law – and applied pure common sense to the situation, said Michelle Flowerday, the Toronto-based fertility and family-law lawyer representing the couple. “It is common sense to delay creating a relationship between a child and a stranger unless there is a guarantee that the relationship will continue,” she said. “There is no guarantee here. We may well succeed at trial.” The judge also said that he would not consider a legal motion by the couple to reverse an earlier decision, made when the women were represented by a different lawyer, to essentially void the sperm-donation contract. It is expected that issue will be considered at the trial, due to start Oct. 21. Justice Karam also rejected a request by Mr. deBlois for an investigation by Ontario’s Office of the Children’s Lawyer – which represents the interests of children in custody disputes – saying such a probe would be “of little value.” Article: 8th August 2012 www.nationalpost.com

Canadian sperm donor and lesbian couple fight for rights over child

Lesbian parents in Canada say they had an agreement: Rene deBlois would donate his sperm for artificial insemination and play no role in the life of any child that resulted. Mr. deBlois says he signed that deal “under duress,” had second thoughts when Tyler Lavigne was born and is now demanding that the courts recognize him as a father with liberal access rights. The resulting dispute in the Northern Ontario town of Cochrane is headed for a potentially precedent-setting trial, tackling head on the legal murkiness that often surrounds the increasingly common exchange of donated eggs and semen. “We’re doing what we think is best for our child. He’s being raised in a happy and healthy environment,” Nicole Lavigne, one of Tyler’s mothers, said in an interview Tuesday. “His family is complete…. I think it’s very important that people be secure that the family they’ve created won’t be disrupted.” The donor, on the other hand, said in his Ontario Superior Court application that Ms. Lavigne, an acquaintance from elementary school days, has failed to respond with her part of their original bargain, by carrying a child for him. “[Ms. Lavigne] threatens and intimidates [Mr. deBlois] with the existence of the contract,” the document said. “He is no longer comfortable with the arrangement, and would like the contract voided.” Growing numbers of children are being born in Canada as a result of in-vitro fertilization and other forms of “assisted” reproduction, often to same-sex couples. When donations are obtained anonymously from sperm banks, and in the few provinces with laws that directly address the issue, parenthood is generally uncontested. In situations where couples and single people make arrangements with sperm donors they know, however — especially in provinces that lack such legislation — the rights of the various parties remain largely unresolved. A smattering of mostly lower-court rulings have addressed the question, but most of the cases have had complicating factors, such as a past relationship between the donor and recipient. The Cochrane dispute, however, boasts the most clear-cut set of facts of any to reach the courts, making it an ideal legal testing ground, said Fiona Kelly, a University of British Columbia law professor who studies the issue. Same-sex and other advocacy groups are planning to request intervenor status in the trial, expected to begin this fall, though the issue is important to single people and heterosexual couples, as well, said Michelle Flowerday, a Toronto lawyer representing Ms. Lavigne and her partner of 15 years, Selena Kazimierski. “It raises so many important issues,” she said. “The issues are really close to the heart of parenting.” According to Mr. deBlois’s application, filed a few months after Tyler’s birth in October, 2010, he remembers Ms. Lavigne as a “bully” from their time at Commando Senior Public School with whom he had not been in contact since 1992 when she approached him in 2008 about donating sperm. She initially offered to carry a second child for him, but the agreement that he eventually signed did not touch on that part of their discussion, saying only that he would relinquish rights to the first child, the donor’s application says. As Mr. deBlois supplied sperm on a sometimes daily basis, Ms. Lavigne performed artificial insemination at home, conceiving in 2010. Feeling he had been coerced into the deal, he asked the court after Tyler was born to require that he be officially recognized as the father and given “general and liberal” access to the boy, the application says. Mr. deBlois was not available to comment, but Ms. Lavigne said the court action came out of the blue and left the couple “shocked,” the tension exacerbated by a small-town culture that is not always tolerant of same-sex parenting. “It’s been very stressful,” she said. Prof. Kelly said judges in similar cases have tended to side with the sperm donor, but argued the Cochrane case, involving a stable couple and a child they have raised from birth, should offer the court a clear choice. “To decide in favour of the donor in this case, with these facts, would suggest that a lesbian couple in Canada can never be the sole legal parents of a child conceived with a known donor,” said Prof Kelly. “This would be an extremely troubling outcome.” Article: 5th June 2012 www.news.nationalpost.com Read more about fertility and parenting law in the UK.

Sperm donor in US who fathered 14 children admits he is a virgin

A sperm donor from California admits he has never had sex, yet fathers 14 children. Trent Arsenault hit the headlines last December when his free sperm bank came under investigation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which threatened him with a $100,000 fine and up to a year in jail.
Now, the Fremont, California local who bills himself as having an ideal gene pool to father children, has revealed that he is a 36-year-old virgin. The revelation on Anderson Cooper's daytime show, Anderson, means that the self-confessed tech-geek, an expert in Silicon Valley, finds himself in the highly unusual position of never having had sex, but fathering 14 healthy offspring.

Speaking on the chat show, Mr Arsenault said: 'I coined this term "donor sexual" and I'll explain it means 100 per cent of my sexual energy is for producing sperm for childless couples to have babies. So I don't have other activity outside of that.'

An incredulous Mr Cooper asked: 'So you do not have sex?' 'I will probably be the 40-year-old virgin,' the donor explained. 'Except I'll have 15 plus kids' - a statement that bought with it applause from the audience to the confusion of the host.

The show saw the virgin dad meet one of his progeny for the first time as Analise, who turns two this week, walked onto the stage. A visibly emotional Mr Arsenault said the meeting was a 'a thrill.' The toddler is mothered by a lesbian couple who seemed overjoyed following the donor's decision to help them conceive.

'I'm trying to not get too emotional,' he said. 'I’m just extremely happy that she's healthy and in a loving home. I hope she has the gene of compassion and that her parents nurture that.' Via a website, he touts his sperm as being organic but a health expert on the show warned that his unusual approach to fatherhood opens the door to spreading viral diseases such as HIV.

Her fears echo those of the FDA which claims Mr Arsenault did not take precautions to prevent disease spreading and found him to be unlawfully manufacturing human cells. The agency issued a 'cease-and-desist order' in what is the first ever case of its kind involving a private sperm donor in the U.S.

Mr Arsenault said in the past that he is simply helping out childless couples in situation where the only other alternative would be sex with a stranger. He told Huffington Post: ‘I'm helping people in need... I'm not running a business here.'

Article: 17th January 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk

Secret sperm donor donated sperm to his aunt and lesbian partner

A 15-year old boy secretly donated sperm to his aunt's lesbian partner so they could have children, his parents have discovered.
Charlie Lowden's parents Charles and Lynn are now coming to terms with the fact that the two children they considered to be their nephew and niece are actually their biological grandchildren.

They only discovered the family secret last December after Charlie, 20, died following a routine hernia operation.

After his death it emerged that several years previously he offered to donate sperm - unofficially - to his aunt Sarah Ashman, now 40, who is his mother's younger sister, and her partner Claire, now 30.

He knew they had wanted to have a baby, but Claire had suffered a miscarriage after becoming pregnant by another donor. Claire Ashman, a beautician from Choppington in Northumberland, subsequently gave birth to a boy, Carlton, now five.

Three years later they asked him to donate again, which he did, resulting in Sarah, who is now two.

The lesbian couple agreed to keep Charlie's true identity as the father under wraps. However, his death forced his aunt to confess the situation to her sister.

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