Sperm donor banned from donating after fathering over 500 children

Netherlands - A Dutch man was banned by a court from donating sperm after it was discovered he has fathered over 500 children.

A court in the Netherlands banned a man from donating his sperm after it was found that he lied to hundreds of women and had fathered over 500 children.
A court in the Netherlands banned a man from donating his sperm after it was found that he lied to hundreds of women and had fathered over 500 children.  © IMAGO / Blue Jean Images

According to BBC News, The Hague District Court made their ruling on Friday regarding Jonathan Jacob Meijer (41), who was being sued by the Dutch Donor Child Foundation for lying to hundreds of women about how many times he donated and how many children he had fathered.

Dutch law allows donors to father a maximum of 25 children with no more than 12 mothers, but Meijer went above and beyond.

The court found that he had possibly fathered between 550 and 600 children within the past 16 years by donating to various clinics in the Netherlands and Denmark.

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He also met families through the internet, often lying to them "in order to persuade the parents to take him as a donor."

The court argued that his actions might have negative psychosocial consequences on the children and possibly heighten the chances of unintended incest.

"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 said.

As part of the ruling, if Meijer is caught breaking the ban in the future, he will be fined €100,000 (more than $110,000 USD).

Cover photo: IMAGO / Blue Jean Images

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