We have been following a series of paternity cases (here and here and here and here) where courts have rejected claims of lack of consent or knowledge by a parent in forcing child support payments. I just ran over a case that, while now a bit dated, is remarkable. The case involves a Chicago doctor who was forced to pay child support after his girlfriend, without his knowledge, saved sperm from oral sex and arranged to be impregnated with it. The case came to public attention after an appellate court ruled that Dr. Richard O. Phillips could sue Dr. Sharon Irons for emotional distress in the case.
Here are the facts:
During their relationship, the parties discussed the possibility of having children only after they married. Plaintiff informed defendant he did not wish to have children prior to marriage, and intended to use a condom if and when they engaged in sexual intercourse. Defendant understood and agreed. During the entire course of their relationship, the parties engaged in intimate sexual acts three times, with two of those times occurring on the same date. Vaginal penetration never occurred; the parties engaged only in acts of oral sex. Defendant told plaintiff she did not want to have sexual intercourse due to her menses. On or around February 19, 1999, and March 19, 1999, defendant “intentionally engaged in oral sex with [plaintiff] so that she could harvest [his] semen and artificially inseminate herself,” and “did artificially inseminate herself.”
Plaintiff’s complaint alleged further that in May of 1999, defendant confessed to plaintiff that she still was married to her former husband, Dr. Adebowale Adeleye. She told plaintiff she planned to get a divorce, and showed him a “Petition for Dissolution of Marriage,” which was filed on May 20, 1999. In the petition, defendant swore she was not pregnant. The parties’ relationship terminated in May of 1999, upon plaintiff learning defendant was not divorced.
On November 21, 2000, defendant filed a “Petition to Establish Paternity and Other Relief” against plaintiff, claiming she and plaintiff had a sexual relationship eight to ten months before the birth of defendant’s daughter, Serena, on December 1, 1999. DNA tests have confirmed plaintiff is Serena’s biological father.
In the circuit court below, Kathy M. Flanagan ruled that Irons conduct was not so extreme and outrageous to sustain a legal action by Phillips. That court was reversed after the appellate court ruled that Irons “deceitfully engaged in sexual acts, which no reasonable person would expect could result in pregnancy, to use plaintiff’s sperm in an unorthodox, unanticipated manner yielding extreme consequences.”
While ruling that the emotional distress claim could go forward, the court ruled that he could not allege theft because the sperm technically belonged to Dr. Irons. Phillips alleged that Irons committed “calculated, profound personal betrayal” when she used the sperm to produce offspring. He found out about the deception two years after the child was born and tests confirmed that he was the father after paternity tests. He was ordered to pay $800 a month in child support.
What is interesting is that it is intentional infliction of emotional distress as opposed to negligent infliction. To meet that standard, he must show (1) extreme and outrageous conduct; (2) intention to inflict severe emotional distress, or know that there is at least a high probability that it will cause severe emotional distress; and (3) severe emotional distress. The court found:
Under these circumstances, even if defendant intended to accomplish only conception and procreation, she knew there was at least a high probability that her manner of so doing would inflict severe emotional distress on plaintiff. According to plaintiff, defendant was aware of his desire to have children only after marriage. Further, plaintiff believed defendant could not become pregnant, not only due to the nature of the sexual acts, but because he believed she was infertile at the time as a result of her menstrual cycle. Months later, however, defendant informed plaintiff he fathered her child. From these facts, if proved, it may be inferred reasonably that defendant knew manipulating plaintiff into unwittingly conceiving a child out of wedlock would inflict severe emotional distress. Further, contrary to defendant’s assertion, plaintiff is not claiming the act of filing the paternity suit itself caused him severe emotional distress; it was the result of defendant’s actions in their entirety.
The court agreed with Irons that she could not be charged with conversion since “there was no agreement that the original deposit would be returned upon request, or where the transaction did not create a bailment, a claim for conversion cannot be sustained.”
I also found the court’s holding on fraudulent misrepresentation to be interesting. It rejected the claim because ‘[]the tort of fraudulent misrepresentation historically has been limited to cases involving business or financial transactions where plaintiff has suffered a pecuniary harm . . . it is an economic tort under which one may recover only monetary damages. Neurosurgery, 339 Ill. App. 3d at 186. Therefore, plaintiff may not recover on allegations of physical and emotional distress.” However, this fraud did cause financial harm given the paternity award against Phillips.
I also do not understand the basis for child support when the pregnancy was achieved artificially and without his consent or knowledge.
I have not been able to locate the current status of this case after the remand. The last published opinion was Phillips v. Irons, 354 Ill. App. 3d 1164, 2005 Ill. App. LEXIS 1807 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 2005)
Jonathan Turley
@contraoestatutodonascituro
Everything Cdub says is true, a woman will make less because of the time taken off from work, it’s a natural fact of life. You tried to interject yourselves in the world of men but those natural facts of life are why our worlds are different. It’s those feminist dogs that tell you those concepts don’t work because they’re trying to upset the natural order of things. In my reckoning, a woman being a mother and a wife is one of the greatest achievements a woman can attain in life if not the greatest. “Mother” is the name of God on the lips of children everywhere, one more time, “Mother” is the name of God on the lips of children everywhere. The act of homemaking is just as important as a man going out there to provide for the family because it allows him to do just that, the feminist dogs either can’t or don’t want to grasp the concept of different but equal. This is why they spew their rhetorical madness about equal rights, your rights have always been equal if not more so just different.
“Women and children first!”
Does that ring a bell, on a sinking ship, women are even put before children and the men are left to get in where they fit in. Where is the oppression there? How about the ratio of women that die in military service as compared to men if they’re even sent to the front to wage war in the unnecessary wars of modern time? How about during World War II when the world was fighting real evil and the women got to stay home and the men were drafted to fight and die, not given the choice, drafted. Now, the women did stay home to work the factories and that is honorable in itself because there would be no weapons to fight tyranny. Again, different tasks, equal importance
You talk about abusive husbands, you do realize that abusive men are in the vast minority of men and men are generally raised from birth to not strike women? Let me ask you, what is your stance on women that abuse men because it does happen often as the men are not allowed to defend themselves either through a self imposed code of conduct and through the laws of man as the police will arrest him anyway for fighting back even if he’s the one that called them there. Also, in cases where both parties assault each other, half the time the woman is the instigator. Let me ask you a question, have you ever been abused by your husband.
On the subject of rape, again, rapists are in the vast minority of men as men are taught not to rape since, not only is it just wrong, it’s a crime and most people are taught not to break the law as much as possible. Do you constantly feel like you may be raped? How do you live with that if you do? Also, women can take great lengths to prevent being raped by not dressing provocatively in public. This is actually one of my favorite topics so I will explain without waiting your reply. Basically, women try to dress in a manner to attract a man sexually, the rub for men is that women will play that “Don’t objectify me” card mercilessly if the man that she attracts isn’t to her hypergamous liking. The rub for women is that, if you dress to attract men, you will attract men but you can’t control the ones you attract. Now, you will attract men that are respectful and will back off upon rejections but every once in a while, you will attract the ones that will not take no for an answer and then you’re faced with the possibility of rape. Now, let me ask you another question, what are you feelings on me that are raped?
@Jack’s Sperm: Oh yes, men rape because women are dressed ”provocatevely”, so they WANT to rape. And, if they want to rape, they’ll just go ahead and do it, because hey, they WANT it, right? A woman should know that, if a man WANTS to have sex with her, then her feelings on the subject don’t matter. She should just not do anything that makes him WANT to rape her, and then she’ll be okay. Silly women, thinking what THEY want has to be taken into consideration….
That’s it, I’m not answering anything else because you’re not worth my time. (go ahead, do your victory dance, pat yourself on the back since it was obviously your so, so, superior arguments that made me ”shut up”. See if I care)
PS: I hope you’re not one of those people who got Fight Club seriously wrong, and like the book/movie for everything it isn’t.
You are kidding right? The picture you paint is based on lies and bullshit. Women were not the chattel you described them out to be. You act as if all men were rapists, murders, killers, abusers, etc. If that were the case modern civilization never would have taken hold, too many men would have been busy pillaging the countryside in search of more women to plunder. This just is not the case, instead the vast majority of history indicates that men where providers and protectors of women, out there working their asses off to provide for their families, and willing to die for their women sometimes for her honor alone. Simply put women were not strong enough to survive on their own without men. Women cannot compete with men. Men will outperform women, that is why women were not ‘allowed’ into most professions. If we truly did away with all the bullshit affirmative action laws, and let the chips fall where they may, men would out produce women 10 times to one every time. Your problem is with biology not with man. It’s called penis envy, and women like you need to start embracing feminity and quit trying to be men already, you will never be.
How many women truly give their husbands the opportunity to be a child care provider? The vast majority of women simply don’t believe that men can be as good of parents as women. And more often than not these women who marry a stay-at-home dad end up losing all respect and interest in him, he becomes a beta in her eyes (there goes women’s hypergamous nature again). No one complains if a man doesn’t take interest in raising a child? Where have you been, all we hear in the media is the shaming of deadbeat dads and how irresponsible men are, on top of that single motherhood is glorified. It’s a cardinal sin to question the plaque of our society that is irresponsible single mothers and lay blame at her feet as well. It’s unheard of, because everything, always, is a man’s fault. Like a poster said before me, women can’t be held responsible because they are seen as fucking children in the eyes of society.
Boo fucking who about women having to struggle and give up working to raise their family. This is all a result of feminism. You can’t have it all. The increase of female workers into the workforce, has pitted women against men, competing for the same job. That means there are less men out there that can take care of women who don’t make as much, because that man is out of work because of a woman. On top of that this has driven up the cost of damn near everything; very few couples can survive on only one spouse’s salary. In other words almost all couples have to work anymore, and childcare is being outsourced. I guess motherhood isn’t very important after all. Sorry but those are the breaks people have to make choices in life, and having children is becoming too expensive for everyone involved. How many men do you think even have the opportunity to be a stay-at-home dad? I mean how many women would give a guy the time of day if said he was looking for a woman to work and he could raise the family? My point is women seem to have choices, and men have next to none. Women can work, work and have kids, work part-time with kids, or just stay home with kids. Men can work, work, and work. Oh and how tortuous that must be to actually have to spend time with your children instead of being confined to some job you hate that you have to keep going to so your family isn’t put out on the street.
So women shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions because in order for them to have ‘enjoyable sex lives’ they need to have irresponsible sex? I mean if they cannot afford the consequences of their actions isn’t that a tad bit irresponsible. By the way women have many more safe sex options than men. How come there is no male pill? I know plenty of men that would love to be able to have access to a male birth control pill. What do you mean defund contraception? If it is state funded contraceptive use then I’m all for it, let people be responsible for their own decisions. If they don’t want a baby, go buy the fucking contraceptive you need, it’s not that fucking hard.
My rebuttal is effective because your conspiracy is exactly that, you believe that there is a conspiracy out there holding women back, and pushing men ahead. I speak of people’s personal fucking choices! If you want to make more money there is a better chance you will get paid more if you have a skill set that is valuable, for instance like a degree in the hard sciences as opposed to a degree in the liberal arts. Too many women go into desk job careers and wonder why they don’t make as much as a guy who never went to college and is something like a heavy equipment operator. I mean that’s obviously sexist, he doesn’t deserve to make more, she went to college so she is smarter, and should make more. Economics dictates which professions are more lucrative. The more risk involved the greater the payoff. You still provide me with no concrete proof that women are paid less than men when you compare people with relatively the same job experience, schooling, skill set, etc. Did you stop to think about the reason they did the Consad Study in the first place? It is because people were concerned about why women were making less across the board? People wanted to know if there was sexism going on. I know hard to believe in this society that is so obviously against women. And time and time again there is no definitive proof.
Yes I heard of the Wal-Mart scam lawsuit. That was bullshit from the get go. A bunch of old fat-assed women thinking they are owed something just because they own a vagina. By the way the court rejected the suit. Over a million women on average did not merit the same pay, or the same rates of promotion, and they were all hired and promoted as individuals, by individual supervisors. Maybe, just maybe, men are better workers by and large, or do they feel an increased need or mandate to excel at work? Yeah, how dare I ask such a question, go call your femnazi thought police. The court accepted Wal-Mart’s argument that the female employees at different jobs, in 3,400 different stores nationwide, with different supervisors did not have enough in common to be linked together in a single class action lawsuit. So all the supervisors (even if any of them were female) would be working in unison with the eternal male to keep women down. Some advice for these women, work harder, improve yourself, stop blaming men for your own inadequacies and deficiencies. Don’t go along with the lie that some man somewhere tripped you up, because we didn’t and you know we didn’t, so don’t lie for free loot, that is dishonorable. The courts said the idiots that brought about the class action lawsuit can still file individual lawsuits, provided they can prove discrimination, which to my knowledge they have not been able to. Once again you are still arguing that there is an evil conspiracy against women by bringing up the Wal-Mart case.
You do realize that there were universities for women right? That some women went to University, just like some men went to university. Not all men were able to go to University. You do realize that men founded modern, chemistry, physics, biology, etc., etc., etc………..I know the penis envy really gets you there doesn’t it.
I know you are a feminist, and feminists don’t need those yucky things called statistics. Eww gross, that’s so patriarchal, what a slime ball asking me for statistics. Typical man. Doesn’t he know he’s just supposed to nod and accept the fact that he is an oppressor and I am entitled to all his shit.
In the history of the world there has been no greater a privilege class than today’s modern Western woman. Victim goggles, you women have made lifetimes out of being victims. Its high tide more and more of you shut the fuck up and listen to the ills that men are dealing with. It’s such a zero sum game for you all. We are bigger victims, whah, whah, whah, listen to us. Oh men might have issues but that doesn’t matter until ours are taken care of. You do realize when men lose, women lose too. Turns out a fish really does need a bicycle. You see the species can’t survive without one or the other. All the lesbian clowns in Hollywood, media, etc. are going against basic biology. It may be all fun and games, but it’s all bullshit. Two lesbians cannot have a baby, never could, never can, never will. I guess you are just stuck with us.
You are feminist, therefore a leftist, so it’s not so far off that I might think you would look to any of the clowns I named like Oprah, or Maddow, etc. Do I need to name more leftist fucktards for you like Dworkin, Brownmiller, Fienstien, Pelosi, Steinem, MacKinnon or some other miserable pile of cytoplasm. I know how you think, and I know exactly what I’m dealing with. Feminism will be looked back upon the same way we look back upon the Third Reich with udder contempt and hate. Maybe it’s time you got on the right side of history.
When was the last time you went out and had consensual sex with someone only to later be arrested for rape, having your name tarnished, death threats, lose your job, the chance of being convicted for a crime you didn’t commit all because the woman you were with didn’t want her boyfriend to know that she had messed around on him? Men’s lives are already worth nothing, it’s legal for women to kill their partners and later claim they were abused (with no evidence whatsoever, only her fucking word, Mary Winkler ring a bell?). Goes to show you how much society values men and fathers. When was the last time you heard President Obama talking about providing a council on men and boys? When was the last time you heard of legislation being passed that vows only to protect men (VAWA ring a bell)? When was the last time you’ve been assaulted by your spouse only to call the police and be lead away in hand cuffs due to primary aggressor laws? When was the last time you tried to go to a Domestic Violence shelter with your children only to be told you are not allowed access because you are a man and you cannot be abused? When was the last time you were forced to pay child support by order of the state on a child that is not yours and you have physical evidence showing you are not the biological father of the child, yet if you do not pay you will be sent to prison? When was the last time you needed a deduction on a child support order because you could not work because you were hurt on the job, but the state refused, and they were threatening jail? When was the last time your soon to be ex-wife made up false allegations of domestic violence and child molestation on your own child against you just so she can get a hand up in a custody battle? When is the last time you registered for college and were required to attend a class with your peers that told you that you were biggest danger to other students? When was the last time you saw a male acquaintance kill himself and no one batted an eye, but when a female did it, it became an epidemic in the local media? When was the last time you were listed on a Sex Offender registry for having sex with your teenage girlfriend while you yourself were a teenager as well? When was the last time a court said that you were not allowed to be a parent to your child, that you are only an ATM, and a part-time parent every other weekend? I didn’t think so, not shut up already and go make me a sandwich.
@cdub: Boo fucking woo, you have to WORK to support yourself? What a terrible injustice! And, like, get MONEY for it! I’m so sorry, sweety, it must be so hard! Women have so much better, raising human beings and getting NOTHING for it! Isn’t it beautiful how society glorifies motherhood as the greatest achievement a woman can get and then say she should get no money for it?
I’m acting like all men are rapists and murderes? I have ”penis envy”? Ooookay then. Whatever you need to tell yourself, honey. I guess someone is a little too pissed off at ”being out of work because of a woman” (guess what, crybaby: you’re not entitled to a freaking job. If the company wants to hire a woman, then you just have to work harder to find someone who will employ you. I bet you’ll have no problem finding one, with that delightful attitude of yours).
PS: State-funded contraception should be mandatory in states where a husband can legally rape his wife. Since pregnancy can kill, the least the State can do is assure the husband don’t endanger his victim’s life.
What evidence? You have none. Name your source. I offered the Consad Report http://www.consad.com/content/reports/Gender%20Wage%20Gap%20Final%20Report.pdf
Coincidently enough it was removed from the Department of Labor’s website once President Obama took office. Proof that just because he is a man does not mean he caters to men’s needs; rather he tries to cater to women’s needs. Men are taught to protect women, and often times at their own cost, as you see Obama doing here. This most likely has something to do with his feminist overlords telling him to take down the findings because they did not support their politics.
Men have not oppressed women. You see back before feminism came along and reared its ugly head, people had roles in society. Men, since they are physically stronger and generally smarter lead and built civilizations, while women since they are the ones who bore children were primarily the homemakers and childcare workers. This is just simply what worked for thousands and thousands of years. Women were confined to their roles, as well as men being confined to theirs. Now don’t get all huffy and puffy when I tell you that men were smarter. They were. Where are the female Einsteins, the female Galellios, female Pattons, etc.? However, while there are more men at the top, there are also more men at the bottom, and women generally round out the middle. Of course, there are smart women, and some dumb women, but men simply fall in greater numbers on each side of the bell curve where women generally fall in the middle.
If anyone is having a knee-jerk reaction it is you. You claimed you don’t make as much money as men because of sexism. I gave physical evidence that this is most likely not the case. Instead of giving me any sources/evidence you bitch and moan that I called you a man-hater, which you are by the way. Your contempt for men in your writing is a dead giveaway, and pop culture only encourages your hate. It’s not too late though. You can actually try and not be a victim for once and actually read something for a change instead of just listening to whatever Oprah, Obama, Joe Biden, Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann, etc. tell you to believe.
I’m still waiting for you to find statistics about how women have things so much worse. You claimed you had statistics, and yet you have offered nothing. I never said the reason women make less than men was because women are man-haters. I said they make less because of personal choices, and only called you in particular a man-hater. Did you even read my post or did you just shoot fire out of your ass because what I said pissed you off? I’ll say it again, now think hard on this one, if a Company could get by with paying women less than men, why then wouldn’t said company only hire all women? They could save a ton of money this way. This doesn’t even resonate with you?
Again to summarize the report on the wage gap, while yes a gap in the raw wages between men and women exist it is not because of discrimination. Further investigation reveals by and large it is due to people’s personal choices. You have to understand that a lot of this still has to do with gender roles. Men are still looked to be bread winners whether women want to admit it or not, as such they are more willing to work longer hours, more dangerous professions (the death professions that pay higher wages), take the risks to start businesses, basically make more sacrifices to further their careers. Women by and large do not date down, so if a man wants a mate he has to make some money, or at least more than her (you know what I’m talking about here, your hypergamy kicks in, where are all the good men bullshit). Women are more likely to choose careers that allow them to take more time off for family/childcare duties, that they don’t have as big of a risk dying on the job (a secretary makes less money than an Ironworker), miss time from work because of pregnancy (leave and come back to the workforce more often).
I could go on and on, but I really don’t think you will give my post a 2nd look, you are too busy wrapped up in being a make believe victim.
@Cdub: You really are thick if you talk abt gender roles and don’t realize their very existence is opressive. So, forcing ppl to be the sole breadwinners and risk death in dangerous jobs and wars because they had a penis, and forcing women to be economically dependent on men (which is just great when you wanna leave an abusive husband, by the way. Is just great when you wanna do anything, really. Just ask permission from the man who supports you, cause you can’t do anything on your own) and risking death by pregnancy and labor (which was even a bigger risk in those times than it is now) because they had a womb ”worked”? Yeah, I’m sure it was just a bundle of joy for everyone involved.
You know why women ”choose” careers that allow them to take more time off for chidlcare duties? Cause they’re expected to be responsible for all the childcare. No one complains if a man doesn’t participate in their child’s raising in any way, as long as they bring money home (in fact, a man who shows interest in his children is deemed a great father while a woman is seen as just performing her duty). In fact, a lot of women have to struggle to balance family and work, or give up working all together, cause they lack acess to contraceptives and to safe abortions…thanks to women-hating legislators who don’t want women to be able to have an enjoyable sex life without the risk of getting pregnant (and don’t even tell me this is ”make believe”, a republican candidate just said last week that he wants to defund contraception because it allows ppl to have non-reproductive sex) So it’s not that women are choosing to balance family and work, and be seen as a potential ”risk” for their companies because of their uterus…you said yourself it has to do with gender roles. You saying ”oh, it’s just because women have to take care of their families and because their pregnancies make them earn less money” is only an effective rebutal if I was saying that the only reason women make less than men is because there’s an evil conspiracy of employers determined to pay less to anyone with a vagina.
Oh, and ever heard of smth called the Walmart class-action suit? Flat out wage and promotion discrimination does exist.
Where were the female Einsteins?! You do realize it was a looong time before colleges would even allow women to study there, right? And you do realize that it was a woman who figured out how to split the atom?
Where are my statistics? I don’t have to do your research for you. It’s not my job to educate you, specially when you’ve shown you’re incapable of processing simple information without your victim goggles (I point gender disparity and all the sudden I’m a ”man-hater”? Sure I’ll have a serious discussion abt statistics with you, you’re such a reasonable person) But I don’t need to show you statistics, you already know what I’m going to show you since you obviously know which ppl I admire. (Oprah? Are you fucking serious?)
You’re waiting for ”statistics” to show women have much worse? When was the last time you didn’t do something/go somewhere for fear of being raped? And, last time I looked, men’s lives weren’t considered less worthy than that of a blastocyte (I’m not even talking abt choice. I’m talking abt bills to allow hospitals to refuse life-saving abortions and nonsense like that. Goes to show you how much society values women). When was the last time someone told you the way you dress allows ppl to violate your body? Yeah…didn’t think so.
contraoestatutodonascituro, you must be new here. Welcome to the Internet. Please take a seat.
@pentt miller:Yeah, inteligence and capability are present in the penis…or maybe it’s the Y cromossome. Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night, sweety.
@pat: Obvious troll is obvious.
contraoestatutodonascituro, you sound very bitter. Some man must have really hurt you. Not all men are like that. You’ll never attract a husband with your kind of attitude.
> if a woman finds statistics that point to the fact that women have it worse than men…
you don’t need statistics for this – women naturally have it worse than men. they’re simply not as smart or as capable as men – this is why you see society treating women like children, because emotionally and intellectually THEY ARE. it’s tough being a kid.
it’s easy being an adult – too bad women never find this out.
@contraoestatutodonascituro
LOL, the reason you make less money than any man for working the same job is because those men make more sacrifices, are better workers, don’t miss as many days, work longer hours etc., etc., etc. This whole wage gap myth has been debunked time and time again. You need to quit listening to misandric women’s studies professors that make shit up out of thin air. Take a look at the Consad Report sometime, this might shed some light on the whole issue of the so-called wage gap. Also, try applying logic to your argument just once. In a day and age where companies are doing everything they can to save money, don’t you think if companies could get by with just hiring an all female staff (because they can pay them less money based on your thinking) they would? Think of how much money they would save. Game, set, match, you lose again clown. Put that in your man-hating pipe and smoke it. What’s next you want to debate your made up 1 in 4 stat too????? Your contempt for men is astounding but not surprising, typical Western woman. Take the red pill.
@Cdub: Why is it that, when a woman points to evidences of sexism in the world, some mysoginistic clown always comes up with ”Man-hating, man-hating!” Guess what, moron: just because I don’t live in your bubble where everything is perfect and there’s no disparity between genders, doesn’t mean I hate men…just the stupid ones like you who always have this knee-jerk reaction whenever women point out that, hey, ppl of your gender have been opressing ppl of my gender for ages. Now, how abt you put some logic into your argument, and face the fact that, if a woman finds statistics that point to the fact that women have worse than men when in the same circunstances…logic dictates that the FACTS are true, rather than it’s all due to some ”man-hating” bias.You sound like a conspiracy theorist. Why listen to the facts when you can just say it’s all the fault of those mean, mean researchers who hate you cause you have a penis?
The law exempts sperm donors from parental and support obligations. The law can also do the same thing in this case, or cases of male minors being raped. It is interesting that the law refuses to do so in the latter case. l would suggest that the reason is purely due to gender politics. Follow which gender benefits from these laws and rulings.
@jersey: Yes, all those women who rape men and then get impregnated by them are benefited from the ”man-hating” judicial system…cause we see SO MANY of those cases that, obviousy, lawmakers not thinking of doing smth abt them is due to a sexist bias.
@KW: I’m so sorry for your suffering, sweety. You wanna a hug? I would buy you a cookie, but I can’t afford to spend money on spoiled clueless mysoginists since I make less money than them for doing exactly the same job.
This is why the West will fall. Men will simply allow it to be destroyed. I hope women are ready for front line infantry. Why should men defend a society that only benefits women?
@contra: “Our legal system says the people responsible for bringing a child into the world are the ones who have the obligation to care for that child.”
And the mother is entirely responsible. The man isn’t, because he had his sperm stolen from him without his consent.
If someone breaks into your home and steals a baseball bat, and then uses that to beat somebody, are you responsible? After all, by owning a house, being robbed is always a risk you have to take, right? It’s the height of absurdity.
He is a victim of fraud and theft, not a willing participant. Any more than a woman who is raped and gets pregnant from it.
@joweb: The point is that now a child is born. A child who needs food, clothing, education, medicine, etc. Our legal system says the people responsible for bringing a child into the world are the ones who have the obligation to care for that child. We can’t go around making exceptions based on the extraordinary circunstances of one case. If that happens, we can set a very dangerous precedent: any man might start taking the mother of his child to court, saying things like ”She said she was on the pill”. And who will know if he’s lying or not, while the case drags in the courts, and a child doesn’t get the support s/he needs to meet their needs?
A man who enters a physical relationship with a woman knows there’s a chance of pregnancy resulting from that relationship. Since an eventual pregnancy will not happen in his body, he knows he has no means to stop it. Therefore, he must be willing to take responsability for a child that comes into this world as a direct result of his actions.
Well this is just bull crap. She chose to have the child all by herself so she should pay to raise the child all by herself.
The father has a basic human right to autonomy which she has taken unilaterally taken from him very much as a male rapist might might take a womens’ choice not to have a child away. In that circumstance she would be entitled to an abortion under the principle of autonomy and so he should be entitled to a “legal abortion” since, plainly, he cannot compel a physical one.
It is true that family courts bend over backwards to find someone liable for child support “in the best interests of the child,” but I believe this is taking it beyond the limits.
i totally agree with you. far as i can see it’s theft by deceit. 1. she apparently DID NOT WANT TO HAVE VAGINAL SEX WITH HIM by claiming to be on her menses.
2. She knew he DID NOT WANT CHILDREN WITHOUT BENEFIT OF MARRIAGE.
3. she knew she wasnt available for marriage when they engaged in oral sex.
4. she committed adultery and in some countries even civilized ones it’s punishable by jail or death.
5. the interests of the child are NOT WITH THE MOTHER since it took her 2 yrs to even inform him of the child. which means she robbed him yet again of 2 yrs of the child life and being apart of the milestones that comes with those years.
it would serve her right if he sued her for full custody of the child as it seems to me she is a unfit mother and there is no telling what the child will suffer at her hands
The female doctor is wrong for suing him for child support. She knew this man did not want children before marriage. To take his sperm and artifically inseminate herself is wrong. To expect this man to be a father to this child knowing he did want to be a father before marriage is wrong of the mother and the court system. He has every right not to want to be part of her life. I hope he does but he should not judged if he don’t want to be. Her mother will have to deal with her daughter when she starts asking why my daddy was not part of my life. This woman did for her own selfish reason.
errr. I see that the article is dated 2008, so I must have been thinking of a more recent case. Rest assured it does happen though.
That is getting very close to making victims of rape pay for their victimization
Lottakatz you seem to have missed the Jane C. Crane case where this older woman committed statuary rape on a boy and then successfully sued to have the boy pay her child support. As we speak the family is seeking to have the child taken from its mother and given to the boy and his parents to raise…
Read about it here:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/08/16/janecrane.ART_ART_08-16-08_B1_T0B1RSR.html?sid=101