A Kansas man who donated his sperm to help father a child for a lesbian couple has been ordered by the state to pay child support for the daughter he helped conceive.
William Marotta, a 43-year-old mechanic from Topeka, was targeted by Kansas state officials earlier this year to pay child support for the little girl, who is now 3 years old, after the couple had parted ways, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.
In 2009, Marotta had responded to an ad on Craigslist posted by Angela Bauer and her former partner Jennifer Schreiner, who were seeking a man to be a sperm donor so they could conceive a child.
The three came to an arrangement to have Marotta’s sperm artificially inseminated into Schreiner. Under the terms of the agreement, Marotta relinquished his parental rights, including all financial responsibility.
But in 2010, the couple, who continue to co-parent eight adopted children ranging in age from 3 months to 25 years, parted ways, raising the issue of who would pay child support for the little girl, according to the Capital-Journal. Then, earlier this year, Bauer, who had been supporting Schreiner and the children, became unable to provide health benefits for the three-year-old, due to a “significant illness” that prevented her from working, and the couple applied for state services — which prompted the Kansas Department for Children and Families to request the name of the child’s father.
Because Schreiner was the child’s sole parent under Kansas law, which does not recognize same-sex marriage, the state was unable to collect child support from Bauer. So the Kansas DCF filed a child support claim against Marotta, the father, the Capital-Journal reported.
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Adding to the case’s complications is the fact the state, in court documents, is alleging that the contract Marotta entered into with the women — under which he wasn’t liable for financial responsibility for the child — is null and void because the insemination wasn’t performed by a licensed physician.
Even though the state is going after Marotta on behalf of the two women, they have said they support Marotta in his efforts to fight the claim and question whether the state’s decision has political motives.
“This was a wonderful opportunity with a guy with an admirable, giving character who wanted nothing more than to help us have a child,” Bauer, 40, told the Capital-Journal. “I feel like the state of Kansas has made a mess out of the situation.”
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“More and more gays and lesbians are adopting and reproducing, and this, to me, is a step backward,” Bauer continued. “I think a lot of progressive movement is happening currently in the world as far as gays and lesbians go. Maybe this is Kansas’ stand against some of that.”
Efforts to reach Marotta, Bauer and Schreiner were unsuccessful, and a message left for the Kansas DCF was unreturned.
Marotta is seeking to have the case against him dismissed. A judge will hear his motion for dismissal Jan. 8 in Shawnee County District Court.
