EXCLUSIVE: Experts Respond to Octo-Mom's Sperm Donor Confession
June 5 2009, Published 10:16 a.m. ET
In an exclusive video with RadarOnline.com, Nadya Suleman revealed that she never asked her sperm donor for permission to use their frozen embryos-embryos that would eventually become her octuplets. While all of the Octomom's 14 children share the same bio-dad, Nadya exclusively told RadarOnline.com on Wednesday evening that she "begged" the man to help her conceive her first six kids. When it came to the octuplets, she said, "I went behind his back and used them all. He didn't want me to. I feel so much guilt for that.
"RadarOnline.com asked experts whether Suleman's decision was ethical-or legal. Sean B. Tipton, the director of public relations for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, explained that men typically sign away most of their rights when they donate sperm. "They almost always relinquish all control over the process," he said. "It's very important that donors understand that they're relinquishing those rights."
WATCH: Octo-Mom's exclusive bombshell revelation about the 'Octo-Daddy'
Suleman's most recent pregnancy clearly violated other ASRM guidelines, though. The group holds that women under 35 should not be implanted with more than two embryos at once. Nadya was 33 when she was willingly implanted with eight embryos. "We've had guidelines on embryo transfer for years, and we keep ratcheting those down," Tipton said. "Multiple births are dangerous for the mother and the babies."
So could Suleman's donor take legal action against the Octomom? "It's a really sticky situation," attorney Theresa Erickson, founder of the California Family Planning Law Firm, told RadarOnline.com. "It's unlawful for anyone to use sperm, eggs, or embryos for any purpose beyond those on a consent form." If there was no written agreement between Suleman and the donor-or if the agreement included a timetable for the use of the sperm or restricted the freezing of embryos-he could have a case.
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WATCH: Nadya's candid conversation about the father of the octuplets... "I screwed myself"
"If she asked for more sperm later, and another consent form wasn't signed, it's a gray area," Erickson added. "And if she lied to him or manipulated him, that might be a problem." The Octomom has said that her donor "would lose everything" if he came forward. Because of this, Erickson says that we'll likely never know whether she violated the law "unless the medical board investigates or she sues the doctor for malpractice. But I doubt that, because she got the eight babies she wanted." (Photo: WENN)
