This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Petition Exempt Sperm Donors from paying child maintenance
Sperm donation is an act of altruism and at the moment, an unmarried couple regardless of whether or not you're on the birth certificate, can make a claim for child maintenance if you donated your sperm outside of a clinic; sperm donors should be able to donate anonymously without any pitfalls.
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Right now in Europe, there is a shortage of sperm; if a financial incentive was offered that may alleviate some of the strain however another problem is that fathers may still be liable for financial contribution even though their motives were purely altruistic.
A lot of people choose not to go through clinics as it's expensive and excludes a large proportion of male donors; even if contracts were established and had legal standing I believe this would safeguard and encourage sperm donation.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months
Related activity
Share your experiences of the Child Maintenance Service
On Thursday 24 June, Lord Farmer will lead a debate on Child Maintenance Service reform in the House of Lords.
To inform the debate, Lord Farmer wants to hear about your experiences of the Child Maintenance Service. He may quote your contribution directly during his debate, so please don’t share anything you wouldn’t want to be made public.
Find out more and share your experiences with Lord Farmer here: https://houseofcommons.shorthandstories.com/child-maintenance-service-/index.html
Videos of the debate, which is known as a Question for Short Debate (QSD), the transcript and other relevant material will be accessible shortly after the debate on this webpage.
The deadline for contributions is 12noon on Wednesday 23 June.
Please note: this debate is separate from any work the Petitions Committee may do on this petition. For more information on how petitions work, visit: https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/sign-a-petition/e-petitions/
What is a Question for Short Debate?
Four short debates ('Questions for Short Debate') take place on Thursday every five weeks in Grand Committee of the House of Lords, away from the main Chamber. These debates are an opportunity for members of the House of Lords to discuss important current issues and draw the Government’s attention to concerns. A Government Minister or spokesperson responds at the end to the issues raised in the debate.