Sperm donor wins custody of child over lesbian birth mother following years-long court battle
The ruling means the birth mother has lost her parental rights. (Canva)
A sperm donor and the ex-partner of a lesbian birth mother have been awarded parental custody of her nine-year-old son by an Australian court.
The ruling by the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was handed down in June. According to the Daily Mail, the legal fees for the battle between the three adults, which has been raging for almost five years, amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The child was conceived through IVF, with the former couple choosing for the eggs to be donated by a mutual friend, while the sperm donation was made by a man whom the child calls “daddy”. However, the biological father was never listed on the birth certificate.
A spilt between the two women sparked the custody battle, during which time each mother spent time with the child, as did the sperm donor, who only agreed to the donation if he was always involved in his son’s life.
The judge said: “The evidence unequivocally supports that [the sperm donor] has provided support and care to [the boy] since the time of his birth and will continue doing so. [The mothers] do not enjoy any superiority over any other person keenly interested in [the boy’s] welfare, namely [the sperm donor].”
The birth mother, who wanted sole responsibility for the child, lost her parental rights.
The judge, who said it wasn’t in the boy’s best interests for all three to share parental responsibility, gave the sperm donor and the birth mother’s ex-partner shared responsibility.
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