Sperm donor is child's legal father, Australian court rules

Relevant part:

> The 49-year-old man and the child's mother, who was single at the time, had been friends when he agreed to donate his semen in 2006.

> They arranged to raise the child together but the pair later had a falling out, his lawyers said. The woman's lawyers argued he was not the father.

> However, the man was identified as a parent on the girl's birth certificate and she called him "Daddy".

Not sure if "sperm donor" is the correct term here, as it usually seems to refer to "legally donated" sperm (through a fertility clinic) where the man is not the legal father...

The Guardian article[1] provides more details. The case is a bit unusual, and thus the title may build wrong impression. In particular:

  - the donor/biological father brought the legal case
  - the pregnancy was performed through artificial insemination
  - the donor was the legal father according to the birth cerificate
  - the donor performed parental role
  - the donor wishes to retain parental rights
  - the mother wishes to move out of country with the child  and a new partner

The High Court ruling is available online [2], and also the earlier Family Court appeal is [3].

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/jun/19/high-court-rules...

[2] http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/downloadPdf/2019/HCA/21

[3] http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/FamCA..., linking to earlier FC rulings.

My first thought was that the man donated his sperm anonymously but then decided to claim that he's the father of a 11 years old but it doesn't seem anything like that

> The 49-year-old man and the child's mother, who was single at the time, had been friends when he agreed to donate his semen in 2006.

> They arranged to raise the child together but the pair later had a falling out, his lawyers said. The woman's lawyers argued he was not the father.

> However, the man was identified as a parent on the girl's birth certificate and she called him "Daddy".

I think this man has every right to be there for this child.

BBC’s headline is a bit misleading. The children of “sperm donors” don’t often call the donor “daddy.”

This was a man and a woman who were friends who agreed to have a child together. This man is no more of a “sperm donor” than any other father who deliberately had children with a partner via artificial insemination.