A woman's choice (Illustration)
Photo: Index Open
Court: 'Sperm theft' doesn't warrant forced termination
Haifa Family Court rules against 21-year-old man who asked former lover be ordered to undergo abortion claiming 'early fatherhood will ruin his life'
The Haifa Family Court on Thursday rejected a petition by a man to have a woman he accused of "sperm theft" terminate her pregnancy.
The judge ruled that a pregnant woman's right over her body is absolute and that no one – not even an inadvertent father – has the right to prevent her from having a baby, should she choose to do so.
The ruling was made in the case of a 21-year-old man who asked the court to order a 26-year-old woman he accidentally got pregnant to terminate the pregnancy.
He claimed that the woman, a divorcee with two children, "stole his sperm" by seducing him while he was under the influence of alcohol and further alleged that she assured him she was using birth control pills.
Once he found out she was pregnant, as he told the court, he asked her to seek an abortion, "but she kept making excuses to postpone her decision." Becoming a father at his young age, he pleaded, "would ruin his life by causing him financial damage and emotional anguish, and harm his chances to get married in the future."
The woman claimed that he was fully aware of his actions and of the fact that she was prevented from using birth control pills, and that he pursued their relationship even after she became pregnant. She further claimed that the family court had no jurisdiction over the matter.
Judge Varda Maroz rejected the petition, saying the a woman's right to choose whether to see a pregnancy to term is anchored in the State's Basic Laws which pertain to the right to physical integrity.
Furthermore, she added, the law does not grant the father of a fetus any rights when it comes to a termination decision.
As for the allegation of "sperm theft," Judge Maroz states that the matter should be heard by a civil court, and not by the family court.
