Stockholm - A 36-year-old Swede has lost an appeal against a ruling stating that he must pay support for three children conceived with sperm he donated to a lesbian couple for artificial insemination, a court official said on Thursday.
The couple have since broken up and the woman who gave birth to three sons, now aged 10, eight and six, has asked the local social security office for financial help.
The office granted her child support of a total of 2 838 crowns (about R2 700) per month and asked the man, Igor Lehnberg, to pay this sum as he had admitted to being the biological father.
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Lehnberg appealed against the decision because under Swedish law a sperm donor is not regarded as the legal parent of children conceived with the help of his semen, and he had not had sexual intercourse with the mother of the children.
The couple have since broken up The appeal court ruled that Lehnberg should pay the support because he himself had confirmed he was the donor of the sperm as he believed the children should know where they came from. Sperm donors are usually anonymous in Sweden.
Lehnberg can appeal the decision to a higher court. Neither he nor his lawyer were immediately available for comment.
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