A man in the US has won the right to see his son, who was conceived through his mother by using a turkey baster.
The court in Richmond, Virginia ruled that Robert Preston Boardwine was the child’s biological father, not a sperm donor, meaning that he is entitled to be a part of his son’s life.
Mr Boardwine is reported to have provided his friend Joyce Rosemary Bruce with sperm, which she impregnated herself with in 2010 using the turkey baster.
Ms Bruce is believed to have opted for this unusual method of conceiving as she believed it would deny Mr Boardwine of parental rights to the child. While the pair had initially considered creating a written contract addressing the issue, they never signed one.
A disagreement arose between the pair after the child’s birth, with Ms Bruce insisting on raising the boy alone, while Mr Boardwine expressed his wish to be more involved in the child’s life.
Delivering the decision this week, a judge of the Virginia Court of Appeals said that Mr Boardwine was entitled to parental rights despite the fact that “the path to fatherhood may have been unconventional”.
This is certainly a one-of-a-kind case.
