Company egg-freezing branches off to another level
January 6, 2015Reassessing the embryo adoption concept
February 2, 2015Another case has entered the courtroom doors where a sperm donor is fighting for parental rights. A lesbian couple has been forced to go to court in hopes that the scales of justice will tip in their favor.
FOX News in Detroit spoke about this case on the airwaves.
The sperm donor, Stacey Teruya, wants custody and the legal debate is getting heated.
The donor contract was drafted in California, so Teruya’s argument is now that the couple he donated to live in Detroit, the contract may not be binding after all.
Annette Burgan who is fighting for her children told reporters that her children, “…understand that he [Teruya] is a donor. I wanted children and I needed help to bring them into the world.”
The story pointed out that Burgan and her partner relied on a donor for motherhood.
While he was declared a donor, the reporter goes on to say that Burgan allowed Teruya to see the children.
The story is a bit hazy as to how many children were born from the sperm donation. A document in the news clip shows Teruya signed the sperm donor contract on 10/13/01.
Also, it’s unclear as to whether or not Burgan knew the donor beforehand. Despite these omissions in the news report one thing is for certain. Burgan allowed the donor to see the children.
And that’s where the legal fog of unclarity starts to settle in.
FOX reports, “They know him as Stacey,” said Racine Miller, the couple’s attorney. “They know that this is how I was created. This is not my father, by any stretch, I have two mothers.”
But Teruya is thinking otherwise. It appears he saw the children regularly.
Following a stretch of time, a disturbing accusation surfaced.
Fox reports, “After allegations of inappropriate sexual misconduct by one of the children against the donor surfaced, Burgan decided to end the children’s relationship.”
Teruya is being legally represented by Christopher Drouillard. The attorney claims the allegations were nothing more than a smokescreen.
Fox received information that Teruya, “…was investigated by Child Protective Services and they made a determination that it was an unsubstantiated allegation.”
While the accusation has been waived, Teruya continues to lean on the courts, wanting parental recognition.