A Danish man has been ordered to pay a fine or face 14 days in jail for illegally donating his sperm.
The man, known only as 'Henrik', was found guilty of breaching the Danish Tissue Act by donating syringes containing his semen to at least five different women without gaining the required approval from the Danish Agency for Patient Safety.
Henrik pointed out that had he donated sperm through sex, he would not have broken any law, however: 'Most of these women are lesbians, who obviously don't have sex with men, and I've chosen to respect that,' he said.
The Agency for Patient Safety reported Henrik after he appeared on a television documentary discussing his experiences with sperm donation and how he connects with recipients through a website. The Tissue Act requires that 'Testing, processing, conservation, storage and distribution of tissue and cells may only be carried out with the permission of the Danish Health Authority.'
Henrik donates sperm free, maintains a friendly relationship with the women he donated to and allows the resulting children to contact him if they wish. The court accepted that he had been tested for hereditary diseases and that he will be tested for STDs promptly if he has unprotected sex.
The judgment hinged on whether Henrik's actions counted as 'distribution'. The judge ruled they did, since he delivered sperm 'to a not inconsiderable number of women with the aim that the women could achieve pregnancy, but not to allow himself to be registered as a father'.
Health Law expert Professor Kent Kristensen, from the University of Southern Denmark said: 'The judgment from Herning is interesting because it puts an end to how the rules on artificial insemination have been interpreted in the Fertilisation Act so far', noting that Danish fertility law 'does not criminalise simple donations between private citizens.'
Henrik has expressed willingness to pay the fine but cannot do so without admitting guilt, which he feels unable to do as he believes he has done nothing wrong. He is considering whether to appeal the decision.
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