The Kansas Department of Children and Families has filed a claim against William Marotta, a mechanic in Topeka, demanding child support for the 3-year-old daughter of Topeka residents Jennifer Schreiner and Angela Bauer, to whom he donated sperm in 2009, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Schreiner and Bauer had sought financial assistance from state welfare officials after Bauer stopped working due to illness and could not financially support Schreiner and their children.
According to the Capital-Journal, Schreiner and Bauer are no longer together but still co-parent their eight children. Because Schreiner is the 3-year-old's sole parent under Kansas law, which does not recognize same-sex unions, the state cannot seek child support from Bauer.
After the couple filed for assistance earlier this year, the state welfare agency demanded they provide the donor’s name so it could collect child support. The state has that authority, court documents state, because the insemination wasn’t performed by a licensed physician, thus making the contract void.
Without the donor’s name, the department told the women, it wouldn’t provide health benefits to their now 3-year-old girl — something Bauer no longer can provide because a diagnosis has left her incapable of working and in and out of rehabilitation since March.
source:
Kansas Sperm Donor For Lesbian Couple Faces Child Support Suit From State
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