The prolific sperm donor who fathered over 500 children has been court-ordered to pay $110,000 if he donates his specimen again.
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This week, a judge ruled in a Dutch court that Jonathan Jacob Meijer,41, a man who fathered 500 children after promising to stop donating to limit any risk of accidental incest, must immediately stop donating and request his specimen to be destroyed at the clinics he attended. According to Fox News, the court ruled that “the interests of the donor children and their parents outweigh the interest of the donor in continuing to donate sperm to new prospective parents.”
If Miejer fails to follow the court’s ruling, he will be required to pay a fine of $110,000. However, his lawyer claimed his client wanted to help parents who could not conceive a child independently.
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“All these parents are now confronted with the fact that the children in their family are part of a huge kinship network, with hundreds of half-siblings, which they did not choose,”
The suit was filed by a mother only identified as Eva, who said he made the false promise to stop donating his sperm but continued to do it anyway. She said she filed the lawsuit in court to protect her child’s rights and prevent future incidents of mass sperm donation.
“In conversations with the donor, many mothers have indicated that he should stop, but nothing helps. Going to court is the only way to protect my child.”
The judge also learned that Meijer violated Dutch law, which only allows a sperm donor to have a maximum of 25 children with 12 mothers, leading him to lie about the number of donations he made. “All these parents are now confronted with the fact that the children in their family are part of a huge kinship network, with hundreds of half-siblings, which they did not choose,” court officials wrote in a statement.
“It is therefore in their interest that this kinship network is not extended any further”
Eva said she met Meijer in 2018 after choosing him as a donor, and he reportedly told her he would stop after reaching the maximum limit. However, she learned he lied about his donation numbers and exceeded the limit before meeting her. He has reportedly fathered over 102 children in the Netherlands, leading him to be banned in 2017.
He also continues to make donations in different countries, such as Ukraine and Denmark, while living in Kenya.
In the Netherlands, anonymous sperm donation is not allowed. Donors are required to identify themselves, and their identifying information is kept on record. This information is made available to the child born through the donation once they reach the age of 16. The child can access the donor’s identity and medical history.
Sperm donors in the Netherlands are also subject to 25 pregnancies resulting from their donations. This limit is intended to prevent consanguinity (inbreeding) and ensure genetic diversity within the population.