A Kansas court has ruled that William Marotta, who donated
sperm to a lesbian couple, is the presumptive father to one of the women’s
children and must pay child support because the various parties did not use a
licensed physician.

According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, District Court
Judge Mary Mattivi ruled that had Marotta and the couple used a licensed
physician to perform the artificial insemination, Marotta would be classified
simply as a sperm donor and not the father.

“Kansas law is clear that a ‘donor of semen provided to a
licensed physician for use in artificial insemination of a woman other than the
donor’s wife is treated in law as if he were not the birth father of a child
thereby conceived, unless agreed to in writing by the donor and the woman,’”
Mattivi wrote.

However, as the procedure was not carried out by a
physician, Marotta is legally the child’s father.

According to the judge, the Marotta decision appears to be
a case of first impression in Kansas, meaning that the specific issue in the
ruling has not been dealt with before – although a 1986 case in California also
ruled that a sperm donor who had not used a licensed physician was his child’s
legal father.