Forced fatherhood or imposed paternity , occurs when a man becomes a father against his will or without his consent. It can include deception by a partner about her ability to get pregnant or use of contraceptives , birth control sabotage, paternity fraud and sexual assaults of males that result in pregnancy. Although the term uses the word " theft ", it more closely falls under a state of fraud or breach of contract.
Stealing of sperm in itself without using it for successful insemination is not illegal and is difficult to prove. It usually has no bearing on issues like child support. It is considered an issue in the men's rights movement. Forced fatherhood falls into three main categories: [ 5 ]. The prevalence of imposed paternity is difficult to measure. Research for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in found that approximately Forced fatherhood namely a woman becoming pregnant against a man's will or without his consent is not illegal anywhere.
Cases are usually reported in connection with disputes over child support. When the obligation to provide child support is challenged by men who allege that their sperm had been stolen or otherwise used to inseminate a woman without their consent, courts will typically enforce the doctrine of strict liability : namely, that a man is liable to support a child conceived with his sperm, irrespective of the circumstances of conception, including any criminal conduct on the part of the mother.
Courts are also thought to be reluctant to remedy such grievances as it would mean ruling that a child was born as a result of deception. Myrisha S. Lewis has written that male victims of contraceptive fraud, sexual assault, and statutory rape should not be "punished with child support liability, but instead receive compensation for the unauthorized use of their biological products.
She contrasts their status with that of voluntary sperm donors, who are exempt from child support liability. In a "landmark ruling" establishing the legal principle that a man's semen is his own property, Lord Chief Justice , Lord Judge , the most senior judge in England and Wales, ruled in favor of six unnamed men who sued the NHS for damages after their sperm samples were lost. The men were all cancer patients who had been advised to freeze their sperm due to the risk of chemotherapy damaging their fertility.
