Man Donates Sperm...Now Being Sued For Child Support - Huh?

 Angela Bauer and Jennifer Schreiner (MySpace/Jennifer Schreiner/Screengrab)

A Kansas Man donates his sperm to a lesbian couple and is now being sued by the state for Child Support.

Kansas law governing artificial insemination is outdated and fails to recognize modern concepts of family, according to the attorney for a Topeka man being pursued to pay child support for a girl born to a lesbian couple as the result of his sperm donation.

Kansas law says a sperm donor is not the father of a child if a doctor handles the artificial insemination.

But the law does not specifically address the donor's rights and obligations when no doctor was involved, as was the case in 2009 when William Marotta donated sperm to Jennifer Schreiner and then-partner Angela Bauer, and Schreiner became pregnant.

Lawyer Ben Swinnen argued Thursday that Marotta, 46, can't be declared the father of the now 3-year-old child, because the donor and moms had a written agreement that he had no parental rights or responsibilities.

Swinnen also noted that nine states have laws saying a sperm or egg donor is not the parent of a child conceived through artificial reproduction.

"The state of Kansas is lagging behind in following the trend," he said. "It is a freeze, in my opinion, on artificial insemination and alternative family settings."

Swinnen also said that in pursuing the case against Marotta, the state is reinforcing the traditional view of a family as a married man and woman with children.

"Anything else is no good," he said. State officials have said the law aims to ensure that a biological father helps support a child.

The Associated Press left a phone message Thursday seeking comment at a number listed as Schreiner's in public records. Listings for Bauer were incorrect or were out of service.

The Kansas Department for Children and Families sued Marotta in October to force him to pay child support and reimburse the state for more than $6,000 in benefits that Schreiner obtained for the child after she split with Bauer in 2010.

Marotta is trying to get the case dismissed, and a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Shawnee County District Court.