Irish judges: Gay sperm donor should see his son

[WillParkinson]

Irish judges: Gay sperm donor should see his son
By The Associated Press
12.10.2009 3:30pm EST

(Dublin) The Irish Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a gay man who donated his sperm to a lesbian couple should be permitted to see his 3-year-old son regularly – in part because Ireland’s constitution doesn’t recognize the lesbians as a valid family unit.

The ruling was a legal first in Ireland, where homosexuality was outlawed until 1993 and gay couples are denied many rights given to married couples. Critics contend the case highlights how Ireland’s conservative Catholic 1937 constitution conflicts with contemporary European norms and fails to address the reality that hundreds of gay couples in Ireland have children.

In their unanimous decision, the five judges of Ireland’s ultimate constitutional authority said a lower court erred by trying to apply the European Convention on Human Rights in favor of the lesbian couple. The Supreme Court concluded that when the two are in conflict, the Irish constitution is superior to European human rights law.

In her written judgment, Supreme Court Justice Susan Denham said the lesbian couple provide a loving, stable home for their son – but that the constitution defines parents as a married man and woman, and gays are not permitted to marry in Ireland.

http://www.365gay.com/news/irish-judges-gay-sperm-donor-should-see-his-son/

[La Lioness Priyanka]

1. one should never ever get sperm donation from friends

its just asking for a lawsuit in the future

[racaulk]

2. A lesbian couple I know are currently trying to get pregnant using a gay friend's sperm.

I know he's doing a wonderful thing for them right now in helping to complete their family, but I do worry that something like this will happen to them in the future. I really hope I'm wrong and the donor keeps his end of the bargain (to waive his rights to the child), but it seems like they're taking a big gamble. Creating, carrying, and having a child changes people more than they may initially realize, and what you want now may not be what you want in the future.

They told me later, after the decision of the donor had been made, that I was considered as a potential donor but was disqualified because I live a few hours away. So glad I dodged that bullet!

[Ms. Toad]

3. Some work out well, some don't.

We really wrestled with the decision. In the end we knew we couldn't have a known donor we did not expect to be involved in raising our child - that really cut down the number of people we were willing to think about asking, since we went into it expecting a life-long relationship with the donor. The known donor didn't work out, so we went the sperm bank route.

Although it was certainly more convenient with a sperm bank - far less emotionally messy - I really hate the idea of my daughter never being able to know anything about half her biological parentage - especially now that she has developed not one, but two, genetically linked chronic illnesses. One of which will require a transplant - and we have no access to half of the people she is biologically related to.

It is hard either way - and I still don't know which is better. We've known two wonderful families which include the donor and the donor's spouse as part of their extended families. The child in one family has now fathered the next generation as a donor, and expects to have the same kind of relationship with his child as he had with his biological father.