One Simon Watson from Luton, Bedfordshire, says he has fathered more than 800 children through ‘sperm donation’. He has been donating his semen for 16 years and has no plans to stop it. Today it’s a full-time job for him. The 41-year-old Briton has kids all over the world.
Well, it may be a boon for childless couples, especially single heterosexual women and lesbian couples, but what about the child and the father?
Selling sperm is a booming business today, but the ‘sperm donor’ is donating his semen only for money with utter disregard for the children produced.
Just like blood donors don’t know where and how their blood will be used, similarly sperm donors don’t know when and where the seminal fluid will be used and by whom?
Since it is a business for the man, the ideal terminology would be ‘sperm seller’ – not ‘sperm donor’. These ‘sperm sellers’ don’t give a damn what happens to kids – whether they are safe, fed and loved properly, where they are brought up, etc. They are not even bothered about the background of the ‘sperm buyers’.
Also, the whole ‘sperm selling’ business degrades and objectifies men, promoting a culture of irresponsible parenting.
The man (sperm donor) is like a cow who goes to the doctor’s lab, takes out the semen as if the cow is being milked. And if the quality of the fluid is not up to the mark, your so-called ‘magic potion’ is rejected, adding to the embarrassment.
Also, selling sperm corrupts our society’s concept of fatherhood. A healthy society should ensure that humans take care of their progeny. It’s not healthy if they fail to do so. Our society already suffers from an absentee father crisis. And these ‘sperm donors’ only add to the woes. It also sends a wrong message to the children about the concept of ‘father’. For a healthy society, it’s very important to teach men to become good fathers.
In short, the ‘sperm donation’ business paves the way to fatherless children.
Also, who knows how the child is treated by the ‘sperm buyer’. God forbid, if the child fails to develop as advertised i.e. the mother may have bought the semen after going through the profile of the ‘sperm donor’, especially she may have paid for the looks, intelligence and physical agility of the donor. In such a scenario, it’s possible she may not love the child unconditionally.
So, the need of the hour is to plant the seeds for stopping these ills of sperm donation, through legislation and awareness.
