Ban demanded on seed from mass donor from The Hague: ‘Put down as a mad bull that likes to reproduce’ | Interior

Dozens of mothers come face to face with Jonathan M., the donor father of their children, at the court in The Hague. It is only a fraction of the many mothers he has helped worldwide since 2007 to fulfill their desire to have children.

The mothers are happy with their children, but they are also furious that Jonathan lied about the size of his practice and the number of donor children. They feel cheated now that it appears that he has fathered at least 550 donor children, not only in the Netherlands, but also in Italy, Germany, Spain and Australia, among others.

The mothers have tried in conversations and letters to get him to stop. Eva (fictitious name) from Barendrecht even wrote a letter to his family and church, because she is concerned about the consequences for the donor children, who are at risk of inbreeding and incest and are now sometimes struggling with emotional problems. “Confidence has been seriously damaged,” says her lawyer Mark de Hek (SAP Personal Injury Lawyers). “Contracts with clinics and promises to prospective parents have been broken.”

That is why Eva, together with the Donorkind foundation – and with statements of support from 49 other mothers – has taken her sperm donor to court. They demand that he be prohibited from donating to new prospective parents on pain of a penalty. They also want him to provide a list of all the clinics where he has donated and that his sperm be destroyed there.

Eva asked him several times how many donor children he wanted. “That was essential for her,” says De Hek. “There was no reason for her to doubt his words. That he can come across as very credible is evident from the number of victims.”

Jonathan delivered his sperm to eleven fertility clinics in the Netherlands for ten years. A guideline of a maximum of 25 children or twelve families per donor applies here. Because there was no central registration of donors, Jonathan was able to father as many as 102 donor children through the clinics. This only came to light in 2017. The clinics immediately stopped using his semen.

Research of this site in 2019 showed that despite the ban in the Netherlands, his seed was still widely used outside the country’s borders for years. For example, the Danish sperm bank Cryos, where he was registered under the alias ‘Ruud’, ​​used his sperm for years and he even accompanied an intended parent to Ukraine to inseminate her with his donor sperm.

In addition, Jonathan also offered his services on websites at home and abroad and on social media. Due to the shortage of donors and the long waiting times at clinics, this is the fastest and easiest way for prospective parents to obtain a donor. The ‘mass donor’ from The Hague made good use of this. He helped women under various aliases.

In court, Jonathan denies all charges. He admits that he has lied to mothers. He said he did this out of self-defense. He also places the responsibility of working with him on the prospective parents and says he also receives a lot of support from other mothers. ,,I am open to contact with children and parents”, Jonathan told the judge. They can call me at any time of the day.

The mass donor denies the risk of inbreeding and incest and claims that his donor children are ‘happier’ than other children. He speaks of a ‘new concept’ and calls himself a ‘known donor plus’. Because unlike many anonymous donors, he is involved with all his donor children from birth. He is there when they are baptized, have a children’s party or a football match. “On Father’s Day he receives dozens of packages with nice crafts,” says his lawyer Richard van der Zwan. He spends every day with children and their parents.

Jonathan even suggests that his donor children can also indicate in their profiles on TikTok or Instagram with symbols and texts that they are a donor child of his, to prevent inbreeding and incest. “And if they meet someone, they can always ask me: ‘Is that a child of donor daddy Jonathan?'”

When the judge asks him if he’s willing to stop, Jonathan beats the crap out of it. It has already been blocked in the Netherlands and at the Danish sperm bank Cryos. Those are the only clinics where he has donated, he claims.

Moreover, he was removed from several sites in 2019. According to him, the fact that he is still actively offering himself as a donor on the internet is ‘obsolete’. “I have no active calls. I did respond to people who approached me of their own accord. There could still be a profile somewhere, but I’m not actively contacting new people there.” He agrees to delete existing profiles.

A broken relationship has changed his mind, he says. “My relationship didn’t go well because of the donation. I was absent a lot and was too busy with it. I no longer intend to be an active donor. Only in occasional cases. I also want a family of my own.”

But he does want to keep the freedom to help any new prospective parents if they approach him themselves. A ban on this affects his physical integrity. “I don’t want a penalty that restricts my freedom.”

Above all, Jonathan acts as a victim in court. Because he’s not the only mass donor. Why aren’t the big clinics that use it addressed? ,,I am portrayed as a mad bull who likes to procreate”, he says. ,,This lawsuit does not contribute to the emancipation of homosexual couples. And also not to donor children who are all portrayed as victims of inbreeding. There is no such thing.”

Jonathan’s words confirm that he is still lying, mothers say after the hearing. At least seven women are currently pregnant with him and there are women who have worked with him after 2019.

“You know that certain things are not right,” says Lucie Brugge from Zeeland. “I was actively approached by him in 2019. Nice idea, symbols on social media, but you can also meet each other in everyday life. Do you also have to put a tattoo on your face?”

She no longer has contact with Jonathan. “If my son needs it, I am open to it. It is what it is. We can’t change anything about it, but it’s enough. I don’t want any new children to come. I wish my child that he has contact with other brothers and sisters, but not with more than five hundred.”