Parents are suing a US-based sperm bank who allegedly supplied them with sperm belonging to a convicted criminal with mental health issues.
Three families in Canada are suing Xytex Corp and Canadian distributor Outreach Health for C$15.4m (£8.4m) in damages, with allegations including wrongful birth, failure to investigate and fraud.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The claimants allege that instead, he was a 39-year-old convicted burglar with multiple serious mental health conditions.
None of this information was included in the profile created by the donor, who has fathered at least 36 children in the US, the UK and Canada, says the lawsuit. Xytex allegedly allowed the man to continue donating sperm until January 2016, despite being informed of his misleading profile in 2014.
"If proven, this takes this case from shocking to truly outrageous," James Fireman, the families' lawyer, told the Toronto Star.
The parents discovered their donor's identity when his email address was accidentally included in a message from Xytex. Using the internet and public records, they say they discovered the man had been diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder, grandiose delusions and schizophrenia, which is believed to have a strong genetic component.
In addition, they claim the donor spent eight months in prison after being convicted of burglary and had only just completed his undergraduate degree, 20 years after dropping out.
"He should not have done what he did, but the big problem is not with him," Angie Collins, one of the claimants, told the Star. "It's with companies that allowed him to donate and sold his sperm."
Ted Lavender, a lawyer representing Georgia-based Xytex, says the company is an "industry leader and complies with all industry standards".
"Pursuing claims in a court of law requires actual evidence and proof," he said in an email to The Guardian, dismissing the lawsuit as "unfounded allegations".
Referring to an earlier lawsuit that was dismissed by a Georgia court because the concept of "wrongful birth" is not recognised under that state's law, Lavender added: "Xytex looks forward to successfully defending itself from the new lawsuits with the same results as the original case."
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipeThe Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
Under siege: Argentina’s president drops his chainsawTalking Point The self-proclaimed ‘first anarcho-capitalist president in world history’ faces mounting troubles
-
Sarkozy behind bars: the conviction dividing FranceIn the Spotlight Sarkozy speaks to the press with wife Carla Bruni at his side outside a Paris courtroom after the guilty verdict
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
