PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsSouth Africa sperm donor refused access to child

BioNews

South Africa sperm donor refused access to child

Published 18 June 2021 posted in News and appears in BioNews 1100

Author

Sylvie Armstrong

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).

A South African court has refused a sperm donor visitation rights over the five-year-old child he helped to conceive...

A South African court has refused a sperm donor visitation rights over the five-year-old child he helped to conceive.

The unnamed man had initially agreed that he would not have contact with the infant, who was born to a female same-sex couple. However, he and his mother argued they had built an increasingly close relationship with the family since the birth, including living as neighbours for a period before the legal parents severed ties in 2020.

Pretorian High Court Judge Jody Kollapen accepted that the donor and his mother may love the child, ultimately held that the priority was 'to respect and protect the intention and choice of the respondents in constituting their family.'

The parties originally met through social media, when the man responded to the couple's request for a sperm donor. Following the birth, however, he told the court 'I realised that I was not psychologically prepared for the impact of his birth on me and I was naive to think I can simply make an altruistic donation and not have the need to be in the child's life.'

The man claimed that he had been actively involved in the child's upbringing, but the parents denied this.

South African law is clear that gamete donors do not have any legal rights or responsibilities in relation to children born from their donation. The man's lawyer instead argued that because a bond had already been formed, allowing visitation was in the child's best interests according to s23 of the Children Act. Though this can form the grounds for a claim regardless of biological connection, the judge refused to weaken the legal certainty that 'sustain[s] the artificial reproductive system in South Africa' by protecting recipients of gamete donations against such claims.

The case was the first of its kind to be heard by a South African court.

Sources and References

  • 17/06/2021
    Sunday Times
    Victory for couple who refused sperm donor access to child he ‘fathered’
  • 15/04/2021
    CapeTalk
    Couple opened Pandora's Box by inviting sperm donor into the life of child
  • 14/04/2021
    IOL
    No case laws to guide court for sperm donor who wants access to child - counsel
  • 13/01/2021
    Lesbian couple forced to take legal action after sperm donor tries to claim parental rights
    Lesbian couple forced to take legal action after sperm donor tries to claim parental rights
  • 18/06/2021
    South African Lawyer
    Judge dismisses sperm donor's bid for visitation rights

Related Articles

PET BioNews
News
11 March 2022 • 2 minutes read

South African 'permanent life partners' win shared legal parenthood

by Georgia Stimpson

An unmarried lesbian couple in South Africa has won a court case to both be named legal parents of their twins...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
Reviews
17 December 2021 • 4 minutes read

Radio Review: Male Order

by Hayley Fryer

Male Order is an eye opening ten-part series on BBC Radio 4, hosted by Dr Aleks Krotoski...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
18 June 2021 • 2 minutes read

Investigation reveals barriers to lesbian couples seeking fertility treatment

by Emma Bunting

An investigation into NHS-funded fertility care across the UK has revealed hidden barriers for female same-sex couples...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
11 June 2021 • 1 minute read

France gives all women access to IVF

by David O'Rourke

Single French women and those in same-sex partnerships will be able to access IVF and other fertility treatments...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
15 January 2021 • 2 minutes read

Lesbian couple ask court to stop sperm donor claiming parental rights

by Dr Elisa Núñez Acosta

A same-sex couple from Johannesburg, South Africa, are seeking a court declaration preventing their sperm donor from claiming parental rights to their child...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
Reviews
30 October 2020 • 5 minutes read

Book Review: We Are Family — What really matters for parents and children

by Chiara Thomas

As changes in attitudes, law, and assisted reproductive technology have taken place regarding family structures, Professor Susan Golombok has followed these developments, keeping children's wellbeing at the forefront of her research as she explores the experiences of these families...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« COVID-19 mRNA vaccines do not affect sperm count

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
13 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Drop in diversity of blood stem cells leads to old-age health issues

5 July 2022 • 1 minute read

No difference between fresh and frozen sperm for IUI

4 July 2022 • 2 minutes read

Shorter IVF protocol reduces risk of OHSS

4 July 2022 • 2 minutes read

USA scrambles to understand implications of Roe v Wade on fertility industry

4 July 2022 • 2 minutes read

Genetic and epigenetic causes of IVF embryo arrest discovered

4 July 2022 • 2 minutes read

Dutch donor-conceived people seek answers

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856