A Dutch court has ordered a sperm donor, Jonathan M. who is suspected of being the biological father of over 550 children to cease all further donations.
The mother of one of the purported offspring and a nonprofit safeguarding the rights of donor children have filed lawsuits against him as a result of the recent fertility crisis that has shocked the Netherlands.
Jonathan was revealed to have fathered between 550 and 600 children since he started sperm donation in 2007, despite Dutch professional standards stating that a donor should not father more than 25 children within 12 households.
Judge Thera Hesselink said on Friday, therefore, “prohibits the defendant from donating his semen to new prospective parents after the issuing of this judgement.
With the wish that he was willing to donate semen… advertise his services to prospective parents or join any organisation that establishes contact between prospective parents.
Should he continue with his donations, he would face a 100,000-euro ($110,000) fine for every transgression, as well as additional fines,” the court ruled.
The mother of one of the litigated children, Eva, expressed appreciation to the court for stopping the man’s widespread sperm giving.
“Mass donations have spread like wildfire to other countries. I’m asking the donor to respect our interests and to accept the verdict because our children deserve to be left alone,” she said in a statement.
