An Illinois man has won the right to sue his ex-girlfriend for using his sperm to impregnate herself without his permission. Richard Phillips, a family doctor in Chicago, says he never had intercourse with Sharon Irons, also a doctor. They did, however, have oral sex three times during their brief affair; Irons apparently saved some of Phillips’ semen and secretly impregnated herself with it. Phillips broke off the relationship when he discovered Irons had lied to him about being divorced. Two years later, she sued him for child support, and DNA tests showed he is the father. While the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that Phillips can sue for emotional distress, it rejected his claims of fraud and theft, agreeing with Irons’ lawyers that “when plaintiff ‘delivered’ his sperm, it was a gift…”
from Wired Magazine
Judges agreed Irons didn’t steal sperm: “She asserts when plaintiff ‘delivered’ his sperm, it was a gift — an absolute and irrevocable transfer of title to property from a donor to a donee. There was no agreement the original deposit would be returned.”
from the Chicago Red Streak