A sperm donor has lost his High Court case to be named on birth certificates with the judge ruling it was likely the proceedings were started to support an immigration application.
Self-styled “Joe Donor” Robert Albon is an unregulated sperm donor originally from the USA who now resides in the northeast of England. He started donating sperm om 2013 and came to England in 2020.
The case is the latest attempt to ‘sure up’ his immigration status said the judge, after Albon had brought a case against a lesbian couple for parental rights earlier this tear.
The 51 page ruling posted this week, relates to a hearing at a family court in March to consider arrangements for a girl, known as CA, born in 2023 with Albon the donor. The local authority in the case and the child’s mother supported limited indirect contact with Mr Albon. The local authority also asked for a care order for a second child fathered by Albon in 2022, known as CB, with indirect contact after adoption or long-term fostering. In this first case Albon asked for parental responsibility as well as either face-to-face contact or more extensive indirect contact; while int he second case Albon asked for her to be placed in his care.
But Mr Justice Poole refused both requests saying Albon ‘lacks empathy’ and questioned his motives for acting as a donor, writing in the judgement
“Is he motivated by the desire to have sex with many different women? Is he compelled to reproduce? Does he enjoy gratification from knowing that there are scores of his children on the earth? Is he simply attention-seeking?”
Justice Poole added Albon targeted women who were ‘vulnerable in one way or another’ and ‘sought to control’ them, adding ‘he uses others’ vulnerability and naivety to suit his own ends.’ He was ‘ambiguous’ about any future involvement in the child’s life at the outset.
Although Albon can be declared as CA’s father on a re-registered birth certificate, Mr Justice Poole refused the bid to grant the donor parental responsibility or increased contact. He also said CB can be adopted, finding that placing CB with Mr Albon would not be in her best interests and that there was a ‘substantial risk’ she would be cast aside.
The case highlights ‘critical flaws’ in the current system governing sperm donation and the pathway to parenthood said Aysel Akhundova, Senior Associate at Dawson Cornwell. Coming in the same week the government confirmed it was not planning on taking forward the Law Commission’s proposals on surrogacy reform Akhundova says the need for clearer regulations and greater awareness to protect individuals from exploitation, ensuring the integrity and stability of the families they aspire to create, is more important than ever.
“The facts of this case highlight the really serious issues of unregulated sperm donation, both legal and ethical. Vulnerable women seeking to start families should not be left to navigate a system that fails to protect them from coercion, control and legal battles over their children. There needs to be clearer regulations and greater awareness to protect from exploitation, ensuring that the family unit that is created, is protected and not at risk. Often these women do not have access to legal advice, and are not aware of the serious and far reaching implications of using a sperm donor in a private arrangement.
“The exploitation in this case shows that urgent reform is needed to regulate informal sperm donation, close legal loopholes, and ensure that parental rights and responsibilities align with the best interests of the child and the family unit. The fact that a known donor is able to seek permission to bring an application threatens the family unit and is a pathway to abuse. On the other side, it can impact the decisions parents take in relation to allowing a known sperm donor access to a child to try and diminish the risk of an application being brought, despite that not being what they actually want to do.”
A copy of the judgment has also been sent to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and the Home Office.
