JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that an Israeli woman cannot get pregnant with the sperm of an American man who has been identified as a serial donor.
The court on Wednesday dismissed the request of the unidentified woman, 42, who had in December 2017 asked a private clinic to allow her to use frozen sperm sent to Israel from New York math professor Ari Nagel. The clinic said it could neither store nor use his sperm because it would violate Health Ministry requirements and Israeli law.
Nagel, 42, has fathered at least 35 children with sperm he donates free of charge. The married father of three has previously donated his sperm to six Israeli women, reportedly without the Israel Health Ministry being aware of it.
Sperm donation in Israel is required to be done anonymously, unless the male donor officially agrees to co-parent with the mother.
The Ministry of Health has said “the claim of an intention to perform true joint parenthood with Mr. Nagel is not sincere or reasonable” based on the sheer number of children he has sired with his donated sperm.
In an interview more than two years ago with the New York Post, Nagel said he typically produced the sperm in a men’s restroom and gave it to the woman in a cup to insert in the women’s restroom. He also told the newspaper that his relationship with his wife has not been romantic in years and that they sleep in separate bedrooms. He has been successfully sued for child support five times.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
