A man who agreed to father a child for a fellow teacher must pay $100,000 in child support despite the woman's written promise not to seek money from him, an appeals court ruled.
The Indiana Court of Appeals said Francine Todd had no right to sign away her daughter's right to financial support from her father, Edward Straub."It is apparent that our Legislature has created a strong current public policy with the object of protecting the rights of children from the whims of their parents and the power of the state," Judge Stanley Miller wrote in Thursday's 2-1 ruling.
The elementary school teachers were dating when Todd asked Straub to father her child. Straub agreed if Todd promised in writing she would never seek financial aid from him.
The relationship continued three years after their daughter, now 5, was born. It ended after Todd sued for child support.
"We know of no medical requirements - or of any sperm donor program - that continues to give insemination injections after the donee becomes pregnant," Miller wrote.
Straub's lawyer, S. Frank Mattox, said the couple's agreement should be binding.
"There is an unqualified constitutional right for a single woman to have a child. It is the classic Murphy Brown situation," he said.