An Australian woman is taking a sperm donor to court in an attempt to remove his name from her daughter’s birth certificate. The case has led to debate over the role of sperm donors in the lives of children born to lesbian parents.

Sofia Marita’s former partner Jesse Star is the ten-year-old child’s biological mother, and is recorded as such on her birth certificate. Sperm donor Neil Richards is also listed as a parent on the certificate, but Marita is not.

However, Richards does not have legal parenting responsibilities, and cannot make decisions about the child relating to her education or medical needs. Moreover, the Australian state of New South Wales recognises Marita as the girl’s second legal parent.

Richards has been a regular part of the child’s life in spite of a difficult relationship with her mothers, and sees her once a fortnight. He voluntarily contributed thousands of dollars in support for three years of her life and has recently spent AU$50,000 on legal fees.

”It’s a very depressing situation,” said Richards. “The birth certificate is more than a bit of paper; it tells people who you are.”

“Everything was fine until the baby was born,” he added. “They used me and they took my money and now they’ve got what they want, they really just didn’t want to know me.”

Senthorun Raj of the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby suggests that sperm donors should not have a legal right to be on a child’s birth certificate.

“‘We have supported the mention of a donor father on a birth certificate, where all the parties consent,” explained Raj. “However, donor fathers should not have automatic rights to be listed without the consent of the parents.”

”The paramount consideration when providing parentage/parenting orders is to protect the best interests of the child, not the expectations or interests of parents.”

Marita and Star have not spoken to the media about the case.

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