Support action against sperm donor
Ferguson v. McKiernan, 940 A.2d 1236 (Pa. 2007)
In a case billed as one of first impression in Pennsylvania, the recipient of a sperm donation filed a domestic relation in support action against the sperm donor. The facts which make this different are that the donor and the donee both knew each other, even though they used in vitro fertilization to impregnate the donee.
The parties had entered into an agreement whereby they both agreed that the sperm donation would not result in the donor being able to seek any visitation with the children born from the donation, nor would the donee ever demand the donor to pay any support, financial or otherwise. After the twins were five years of age, however, the donee changed her mind and filed a support action in the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. While the Lower Court determined that there was a valid agreement between the parties, citing Pennsylvania Case Law, the Lower Court held that the parties could not bargain away the children’s right to receive support from their father. The Superior Court affirmed the decision of the Lower Court following the same line of reasoning.
On appeal, however, the Supreme Court held that the case was similar to the anonymous sperm donor situations usually involving in vitro fertilization, and accordingly, reversed the decision of both the Superior and Lower Court and denied the donee and the children the right to receive child support from the sperm donor father. The opinion had two dissenting opinions filed by Justices Saylor and Eakin. Saylor stated that this was a matter for the legislature, not the courts. Eakin stated that the law of Pennsylvania was clear and that no child can be denied the right to receive child support from a known parent.