Symmetry

Man Must Support His Two In Vitro Children | AP | 9.16.05

(AP) – OLYMPIA, Wash.-A married man who conceived two children with his mistress through in vitro fertilization is the legal father of both and must pay child support, the state Supreme Court has ruled, overturning an appellate court decision that the man was merely a sperm donor.

The unanimous decision Thursday by the high court upheld an earlier trial court ruling that ordered Michael J. Kepl to resume making payments to his longtime girlfriend, 48-year-old Teresa L. Brock of Puyallup.

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With the affair foundering in 2001, Brock had a second child via in vitro fertilization, using Kepl’s sperm. She said he approved of the second pregnancy, but he denied it. Brock said Kepl continued to pay child support, even increasing it to nearly $1,000 until his wife learned of the affair in 2002. He then cut off all contact and payments.

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“I live on Social Security disability. We get food stamps. I’ve borrowed money because we get shut-off notices,” Brock said. “It’ll be a major impact when we start getting the money.”

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Brock’s lawyer, Talis Abolins, said the court’s ruling does not disrupt legal provisions that are critical to many adoptive parents, same-sex couples and fertility clinics.

“This was a case where the facts were so extreme that the court, even recognizing that those state protections exist, said they did not apply in this case,” he said.

More than a mistress, more than a donor…