A new and unusual criminal case out of Houston, Texas highlights some of the problems with the fertility industry shown in a new video that is getting attention within pro-life circles.
In this case, a Texas man is upset his former girlfriend stole his sperm and used it to produce two twins via in-vitro fertilization without his permission. The man says he had no idea what happened until he received a receipt from the fertility clinic addressed to him.
From the story:
Joe Pressil, 36, said he discovered his former girlfriend’s action when he received a receipt in the mail from a fertility clinic indicating himself as the patient, KPRC-TV, Houston, reported.
“Actually, I couldn’t believe it could be done. I was very, very devastated. I couldn’t believe that this fertility clinic could actually do this without my consent, or without my even being there,” Pressil said, adding artificial insemination is against his religious beliefs.
Pressil’s ex-girlfriend sued for and was granted child support after blood tests confirmed he is the father.
“That’s a violation of myself, to what I believe in, to my religion, and just to my manhood,” Pressil said.
“It’s not what you’re thinking when you’re in a relationship,” said Jason Gibson, Pressil’s attorney. “That’s not what most people are thinking, that their partner is going to get a special condom, use that condom as soon as you’re done having sex, run off to the fertility clinic to go have an IVF procedure. That’s certainly not what my client was thinking,” Gibson said.
The ex-girlfriend’s attorney, Derek Deyon, said Pressil filed suit to avoid paying child support.
Although some view the fertility industry as a good tool for parents to use to have children in instances where they may be unable to conceive naturally, a new video documentary called Anonymous Father’s Day chronicles one problem: adults of anonymous sperm donors and their perspective.
“Anonymous Father’s Day presents the untold stories of children of sperm donors. Featuring the heart-rending reflections of now adult children fathered anonymously, these donor-conceived children share the pain, longing and uncertainties created by the secrecy of their conceptions,” the filmmakers say.
The film was created by the The Center for Bioethics and Culture (CBC), producers of the award-winning documentary film Eggsploitation (2010) which focused on the egg donation industry. While the “world premiere” of Anonymous Father’s Day will be in New York City on January 29, 2012, the film is now available for DVD purchase, and can be viewed on the Internet.
“There really is a growing community of people who are making their voices heard, and they’re angry about what’s been done to them, and want to stop it for future generations,” a woman who states she was conceived through anonymous sperm donation says in the film’s preview trailer.
“Should we be conceiving children in the first place who will be deliberately denied the ability to know, and be known by, their father?” another woman asks in the trailer.
