Sperm donor sues for parental rights

TOPEKA, Kan., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A Kansas Supreme Court case has drawn national attention to the question of whether sperm donors have paternal rights.

The case was brought by a man, identified in court papers by the initials D.H., against a friend identified as S.H. who was inseminated with his sperm, USA Today reported Friday.

The man sued to establish paternity after S.H. revealed that she did not intend to share parental rights. Kansas law states sperm donors are not the legal fathers of children created by artificial insemination unless the donor and mother sign a written agreement.

The case questions whether the denial of parental rights to sperm donors who are known to mothers violates the constitutional rights of the donor as a parent. The case does not apply to anonymous donors.

Linda Henry Elrod, director of the Children and Family Law Center at Washburn University law school in Topeka, said she agrees with the argument put forward by the donor's legal team.

"A man who is the known genetic father and who steps forward to accept parental responsibility for his children automatically has those rights as a matter of constitutional law," she said.

The court is expected to rule by February.