After fathering 550 children, a Dutch court punishes the "superman".
A Dutch court in The Hague ruled on Friday to stop a man from donating more sperm after he fathered at least 550 children in the Netherlands and other countries and misled potential parents about the number of children he helped father.
A judge at The Hague District Court ordered the blocking in a court order filed by the parents of a child conceived with donor sperm and an organization representing the other parents .
The court noted that "under Dutch guidelines, sperm donors are allowed to father a maximum of 25 children from 12 mothers," noting that "the donor lied to prospective parents about the dates of his donations. "
In its written decision, the court said: " The donor, Jonathan , provided the sperm to several Dutch fertility clinics , a clinic in Denmark, as well as many other people with whom he communicated through advertisements and online forums . "
For his part, the donor's lawyer said in a court hearing that he "wanted to help those unable to have children ," according to the Associated Press.
The court stated in a statement that the judge - who considered the civil case - said that the donor "deliberately lied about this matter in order to convince the parents to take him as a donor."
"All these parents are now faced with the fact that their family's children are part of a huge kinship network, with hundreds of half-siblings, which they did not choose," the court added.
"This had or could have negative psychosocial consequences for the children , so it is in their interest that this kinship network not be expanded any further," she added.
And the court considered that "the case is related to the conflict of basic rights. On the one hand, the right to respect the privacy of parents and children.. and on the other hand, the same right of the grantor."
The court ruled that "the interests of the donor's children and their parents outweigh the donor's interest in continuing to donate sperm to new prospective fathers".
The court ordered the man to stop all donations "immediately" and said he must pay 100,000 euros ($110,000) per case if he breaks the ban.
A Dutch court in The Hague ruled on Friday to stop a man from donating more sperm after he fathered at least 550 children in the Netherlands and other countries and misled potential parents about the number of children he helped father.
A judge at The Hague District Court ordered the blocking in a court order filed by the parents of a child conceived with donor sperm and an organization representing the other parents .
The court noted that "under Dutch guidelines, sperm donors are allowed to father a maximum of 25 children from 12 mothers," noting that "the donor lied to prospective parents about the dates of his donations. "
In its written decision, the court said: " The donor, Jonathan , provided the sperm to several Dutch fertility clinics , a clinic in Denmark, as well as many other people with whom he communicated through advertisements and online forums . "
For his part, the donor's lawyer said in a court hearing that he "wanted to help those unable to have children ," according to the Associated Press.
The court stated in a statement that the judge - who considered the civil case - said that the donor "deliberately lied about this matter in order to convince the parents to take him as a donor."
"All these parents are now faced with the fact that their family's children are part of a huge kinship network, with hundreds of half-siblings, which they did not choose," the court added.
"This had or could have negative psychosocial consequences for the children , so it is in their interest that this kinship network not be expanded any further," she added.
And the court considered that "the case is related to the conflict of basic rights. On the one hand, the right to respect the privacy of parents and children.. and on the other hand, the same right of the grantor."
The court ruled that "the interests of the donor's children and their parents outweigh the donor's interest in continuing to donate sperm to new prospective fathers".
The court ordered the man to stop all donations "immediately" and said he must pay 100,000 euros ($110,000) per case if he breaks the ban.
