After fathering at least 550 children in the Netherlands and other countries and lying to prospective parents about the number of children he helped to produce, a Dutch court prohibited the man from giving any more of his sperm.
Ban on Mass Donation
The injunction was issued by a judge in The Hague District Court on Friday, April 28. According to ABC News, this is in response to a lawsuit filed by the mother of a child developed with the donor's sperm and a foundation on behalf of other parents.
The mother, who the foundation identifies as Eva, is pleased with the verdict.
"I hope that this ruling leads to a ban on mass donation and spreads like an oil slick to other countries. We must stand hand in hand around our children and protect them against this injustice," she noted in a statement.
The judge pointed out that the donor had deceived potential parents about his donation history and that, according to Dutch laws, sperm donors are limited to having a total of 25 children with a maximum of 12 different moms.
The Lies and Justification
According to Reuters, 41-year-old Jonathan Meijer supplied sperm to many Dutch reproductive clinics, a facility in Denmark, and numerous other individuals via advertising and internet forums.
In the court hearing, the donor's lawyer explained that his client was motivated by a desire to assist couples who were having difficulty conceiving. However, in a statement released by the court, the judge who handled the civil case found that the donor lied about this to get the parents to accept him as a donor.
"All these parents are now confronted with the fact that the children in their family are part of a huge kinship network, with hundreds of half-siblings, which they did not choose. [This] has or could possibly have negative psychosocial consequences for the children. It is, therefore, in their interest that this kinship network is not extended any further," the court said, as reported by CBS News.
According to the judge, conflicting fundamental rights were at issue. On the other hand, it added that parents and donor children should be granted privacy protections, but the donor should be granted the same protections.
The court held that the donor's desire to keep donating sperm to new potential parents was deemed to be outweighed by the donor's obligation to the children he has already fathered.
The court has issued a temporary restraining order against him, requiring him to immediately cease any contributions or face a fine of €100,000 ($110,000).
Attorney Mark de Hek referred to the decision as "a clear signal" and "a final warning to other mass donors."
