An Australian court on Wednesday ruled that the name of a man who donated sperm to two lesbians should be removed from their child's birth certificate because he was not legally her parent.
The Sydney District Court ruled that the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry should remove the man's name from the girl's birth certificate and replace it with that of the birth mother's partner.
Though he expressed sympathy with the man, who had a close bond with the now school-aged girl, judge Stephen Walmsley said there was "no contractual right" established when he donated his sperm that he would be a legal parent.
"As (the sperm donor) concedes, there was no agreement before (the child's) birth that he would be on the register when he agreed to donate his sperm," Walmsley said.
"I have considerable sympathy for (the man) -- he has done what he considers has been his very best for the child."
The man said he was devastated by the decision and called for laws to be changed to recognise situations such as his.
Source: AFP Asian Edition
