26 July 2004 
Deadbeat Donors
In the ever-changing world of bioethics, this ruling from Pennsylvania seems to be a move in the right direction:
A state appeals court ruled that a verbal agreement between a woman and her sperm donor was invalid, and ordered the man to pay child support for the woman’s twins.
The three-judge panel ruled Thursday that the deal between Joel McKiernan and Ivonne Ferguson — in which McKiernan donated his sperm and would not be obligated to pay any support — was unenforceable because of “legal, equitable and moral principles.”
Ostensibly this would place greater responsibility on sperm donors, which I believe would be a good thing. Currently, it seems in our culture, sperm and eggs are traded more as commodities than building blocks of life. A father is a father whether or not he wants to be absent.
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