She would have had at least 550 children thanks to artificial insemination by donating her sperm, far beyond the limits permitted by law. The Netherlands has a limit of 25 children per donor, but with various tricks Jonathan M. could have managed to go far beyond that figure. Now a lawsuit has been filed against him, supported by the Stichtin Donorking foundation and, above all, by the mother of one of these countless children who accused him of lying about the true number of his children. breadth of this generation. The demand made to the judge in The Hague is to prevent M.’s seed from giving birth to other creatures, not only for genetic reasons, but also for the emotional health of the people involved.
During the trial, the mother underlined that M. had assured her that she did not have more than 25 children, but discovered through a post on the CEO in 2019 that the reality was quite different. The 41-year-old “serial donor” pleaded guilty to lying about the number of children he had from hundreds of different mothers and said he was ready to stop promoting himself as a donor. However, if people who want to have a child with him approach him directly, he wants to feel free to accept or not. In response, the prosecution demanded a review of all clinics to which M. had donated, and explicitly demanded that specimens still in circulation be destroyed, except for those already reserved for his prospective parents.
According to defense attorney Richard van der Zwan, M. was motivated only by the desire to help parents who cannot have children fulfill their dreams. Van der Zwan then underlined that the risk of interbreeding between two related children of a known donor, such as Jonathan M., is clearly lower than the risk of this occurring between two half-siblings created by an unknown donor. “Moreover, thanks to digitalization, these children can choose an icon from their social networks to indicate that they are the children of a particular donor,” said the lawyer, who was told by the prosecution that this was not the responsibility of the children.
In the Netherlands, donor sperm can be used to deliver 25 babies from up to 12 different mothers. These numbers keep the risk of genetic transmission low between two people born to the same father, greatly reducing the chance of passing on hereditary defects. However, these guidelines are easily circumvented, as Dutch clinics do not share information with each other or with foreign facilities, and also because there are no specific agreements between donors and mothers. This legislative loophole, highlighted by the lawsuit against M., prompted the Dutch House of Representatives to discuss the creation of a national database of sperm donors on Wednesday. As Nos reports, the proposal appears to be gaining widespread support, and potential changes simmering will include turning the ceiling of 25 children per donor into a legal hurdle and filing criminal charges. event of crossing the threshold.
According to the indictment, prosecutor Mark de Hek said that the large number of brothers and sisters scattered around the world, given the impossibility of knowing all of them, can affect the emotionality of these people’s constituents. “This kind of family is a new concept, it’s up to us to shape it, and one might wonder whether it’s necessary for a child to associate with all other blood relatives,” said the judge. According to Var der Zwan, M. has good relations with many parents and children, and may have taken part in various services, graduations and musicals of some of them. With this example, the lawyer stressed that the fears raised by the prosecution were not representative of all the families who came into contact with the “serial donor.”
Today, M. donates much less than a few years ago, so “no donation ban is necessary,” says his lawyer. After the Ad was published in 2019, M. was actually removed from all Dutch donation sites, moreover, the relevant party declares that he is no longer active even on foreign platforms, “it may have been an active profile for a while, but I don’t actively approach people anymore,” said M. Defense. The donor continues to respond to the requests of mothers who have children and want more, or people who approach spontaneously and have no problems. with many children already born from its seed. “I want to preserve this freedom, I do not want the sword of Damocles over my head”, M. completed. The first possible agreement between the parties failed, for the prosecution now “really more than enough”, M. will have to stop donating to future parents. The judge’s decision is expected on April 28.
Source: Today IT

Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.