The Buckingham

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A man in Kansas has been ordered by a judge to pay child support, despite the fact that he was only a sperm donor.

The man, William Marotta of Topeka, donated sperm in 2009 to a lesbian couple, also in Topeka, after noticing their craigslist advertisement.  He delivered three cupfuls of his sperm, free, to the women, one of whom gave birth to a daughter.

After the parents separated, one of the women stopped working due to illness and applied to the state for help.  The state then contacted Marotta for child support.

Marotta tried to tell Kansas officials that he signed an agreement with the couple beforehand that stated he would assume no financial responsibility for the child, who is now three years old.  However, the Kansas Department for Children and Families said that because a physician did not perform the insemination (which Marotta was not aware of), he was liable for the child.

Under Kansas law, which also doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages, Marotta is the legal father of the child, despite only having met the girl once by chance.

Marotta is expected to pay the girl’s mother $6,000, as of now.