HAGUE, Netherlands – A Dutch man, known as Jonathan, suspected of fathering between 550 to 600 children worldwide through sperm donations, has been ordered by a Hague court to cease his donations or face a hefty fine of over €100,000 (£88,000).
Jonathan, 41, was previously banned from donating to fertility clinics in the Netherlands in 2017, after revelations of his prodigious fathering of over 100 children. However, the determined donor circumvented the restriction by taking his services abroad and online.
Now, the Hague court on Friday, April 28, 2023, has ordered Jonathan to provide a comprehensive list of all the clinics he had used and has directed them to destroy any remaining samples of his sperm.
The court’s spokesperson, Gert-Mark Smelt, expressed concern over the sheer size of the kinship network created by Jonathan’s actions, emphasizing, “this kinship network with hundreds of half-brothers and half-sisters is much too large.”
The case against the prolific donor was brought to court by a foundation dedicated to protecting the rights of donor children and a mother of a child allegedly fathered by Jonathan.
Dutch clinical guidelines currently state that a sperm donor should not father more than 25 children in 12 families to prevent potential inbreeding.
However, Jonathan has flagrantly disregarded these guidelines, donating not only to Dutch clinics and private individuals but also to a Danish clinic, which dispatched his sperm globally.
Judge Thera Hesselink laid down strict prohibitions for the defendant, stating, “the court prohibits the defendant from donating his semen to new prospective parents after the issuing of this judgment.”
Jonathan has also been banned from advertising his services, joining any organization linking prospective parents, or expressing any desire to donate sperm to prospective parents.
The Hague court highlighted Jonathan’s deliberate misinformation to prospective parents about the number of children he had fathered, noting, “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 court also stated that this situation could have “negative psychosocial consequences” for the children involved.
This case follows a previous scandal in 2019, where a Dutch fertility doctor was confirmed to have fathered 49 children after being accused of using his own sperm to inseminate patients without their consent.
The Netherlands’ fertility industry is again under scrutiny, highlighting the need for tighter regulations to protect the rights of parents and children.
