All’s fair in love, war, and paternity cases.
When child support is sought, there is scarcely
any deceit that courts won’t push aside under
the “best interests of the child” test.
Courts have
ruled that boys who were statutorily raped by
older women must pay child support. Courts have
ruled that when a woman has taken the semen from
a condom a man used for sex with a different
woman and has inserted it in herself, the man
must still pay child support. Courts have ruled
that when a woman has concealed her pregnancy
(denying the man the right to be a father) and
then sued for child support a decade later, the
man must still pay child support. Courts have
ruled that when a woman has deceived her
husband into believing that her baby is his
child, he must still pay child support. Few if
any men are relieved of child support
obligations due to the circumstances of the
pregnancy, no matter how bizarre or unjust.
n
last week's ruling the court stated that, if
Phillips’ story is true, Irons “deceitfully
engaged in sexual acts, which no reasonable
person would expect could result in
pregnancy." The court reinstated Phillips’
lawsuit against Irons, which had been thrown out
by the Cook County Circuit Court in 2003.
Unfortunately,
the court couldn’t bring itself to properly
uphold Phillips’ reproductive rights, instead
ruling that he must continue to pay child
support because “when plaintiff 'delivered' his
sperm, it was a gift…There was no agreement that
the original deposit would be returned upon
request.” Of course, in Phillips’ version of
events, there was also no agreement that Irons
would use his sperm to make a baby.
Research shows
that men are often deceived into paternity. A
recent poll of 5,000 women conducted for
That’s Life! magazine in the United Kingdom
found that 42% of women say they would lie about
contraception in order to get pregnant,
regardless of the wishes of their partners.
According to research conducted by Joyce
Abma of the
National
Center for Health Statistics
and Linda
Piccinino of Cornell University, over a million
American births each year are the result of
pregnancies which men did not intend. Jo
Checkley, the editor of That’s Life!,
notes:
“To
deliberately get pregnant when your partner
doesn’t want a baby is playing Russian roulette
with other people’s lives."
Phillips says
he feels as if he’s “being trapped in a
nightmare,” and has had headaches and trouble
sleeping and eating.
If Phillips’
story is true, Irons has committed one of the
most damaging acts a woman can do: knowingly
create a child with an unwilling father. The Appellate Court acted correctly in allowing
Phillips to take legal action against the person
he claims deceived him in such an important,
intimate, and emotional matter.
