High Court rules that a father's informal "sperm donor" claim does not absolve him of financial responsibility for his twins, reinforcing the legal weight of parental duties in South Africa.Image: 123RF
(The Post News)- The Johannesburg High Court has dismissed a man’s claim that he was merely a sperm donor and therefore not financially responsible for his twin children reinforcing that informal agreements cannot override legal parental duties under South African law.
A senior advocate from Johannesburg, who had an on-and-off extramarital relationship with a woman beginning in 2002, became the biological father of twins a boy and a girl born in October 2021 through artificial fertilisation.
In 2024, the mother of the twins approached the maintenance court seeking increased financial support, citing the non-renewal of her employment contract. In response, the father filed an application in the High Court, asserting that he had a “gamete donor agreement” with the mother, allowing the use of his sperm solely for conception via fertility treatment.
He claimed the maintenance request violated the terms of that agreement and sought a declaratory order stating that he should not be recognised as the children’s father, nor bear any parental responsibilities or rights under the Children’s Act.
According to his affidavit, he had agreed to help the woman conceive out of care and affection, supporting what he described as her heartfelt desire to have children. He maintained that he had clearly expressed that he neither wished nor was financially able to raise another child, and that she had accepted these terms which, he argued, formed the basis of his consent to donate sperm.
To support his claim, he said he signed a standard sperm donor consent form at a fertility clinic, using an alias. The form typically intended for anonymous donations stipulated that the donor and his family would have no contact with any resulting child.
However, Acting Judge Ceri von Ludwig noted in her judgment that the man did not possess a copy of the alleged agreement. She also pointed out that the parties remained in regular contact after the fertilisation including in-person visits and WhatsApp communication which contradicted the notion of anonymity or detachment.
The mother offered a different account. She stated that they had actively attempted to conceive since 2010, including undergoing an IVF procedure in 2018, and that no donor arrangement had ever been mentioned. Following renewed discussions in late 2020, they proceeded with fertility treatment in January 2021. She said they undertook the process together and that she had assured him she had no intention of disrupting his marriage.
She also testified that the man visited the twins regularly, contributed financially, and formed a bond with them. The children knew him as their father, she said, and it was only after she requested increased support that he asserted he was merely a sperm donor.
Judge von Ludwig found that, as a practising senior counsel, the father’s failure to secure a formal, written agreement was particularly significant. This absence was especially striking given the emotionally charged messages exchanged between them over the years, including around the time of the fertility treatment.
“The evidence points to a long-standing personal relationship and shared intention, not an anonymous donor arrangement,” the judge said. She criticised the father’s attempt to recover legal fees from the mother as “distasteful,” given that he was simultaneously seeking to avoid financial responsibility for the children.
The court dismissed his application and ordered him to pay the mother’s legal costs.
This ruling reinforces that informal donor claims especially those lacking written documentation carry little weight in family law disputes. It also underscores the legal and ethical risks of relying on verbal understandings when navigating complex parenting decisions.
As reproductive technologies become more accessible, cases like this highlight the urgent need for formal agreements and legal clarity to protect the rights of both parents and children.
Please share your thoughts contact Thembeka via email: journalist-thembeka@thepostnews.net
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