Last week, a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania appeals court ruled that a verbal agreement between a woman and her sperm donor was invalid and that the man now had to pay child support…$1520 a month despite the fact that the court admitted the agreement appeared to be a binding contract. Why? “It is the interest of the children we hold most dear,” the court said.
In other words, it didn’t matter if there was what would otherwise be a legal contract, and it didn’t matter that the man’s rights might be violated. In fact, as a male in a case such as this, you can expect to be perfectly and ultimately disposable.
I know. I’ve experienced it.
The courts of this country are well trained to ignore the rights of the father when it comes to child support. Personal responsibility is redefined as resting only on the male and only having to do with cash. If she gets pregnant, no matter whether she deceived you or not, no matter whether she chose it or not, the male can expect to be treated no better than an indentured servant until the child or children reaches legal age. The male will have lost his ability to live the life he sees fit, i.e., he will not be entitled “to the pursuit of happiness” as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, because he will be forced to supply to the courts or the system decreed amounts of money based not usually on what he can afford to pay. In some states, courts can set child support based on what they believe the father is capable of earning, regardless of whether that belief is a fantasy…regardless of whether to earn that much money the man is forced to take jobs he would not otherwise take or stick with a career path that makes him unhappy or sick. And there is a point where death is a better option.
And it’s our own fault, guys, because we’ve done nothing to change or even challenge the system.
The implications of this case reach much further than anyone probably ever thought child support cases would go. Frankly, it would be fitting if every sperm bank in the country dried up because of it. Certainly, sperm donors now have something more to think about. A lot more. Twenty years worth.