TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas judge has ruled that a man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple after responding to their online ad is the father of a child born to the women and must pay child support.

Shawnee County District Court Judge Mary Mattivi wrote Wednesday that because a licensed physician was not involved in the artificial insemination process, William Marotta is more than a sperm donor and thus responsible for the child.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported the Kansas Department for Children and Families filed the case in October 2012 seeking to have the Topeka man declared the father of a girl born to Jennifer Schreiner in 2009.

Marotta argued that he didn’t intend to be the child’s father and signed a contract waiving his parental rights.

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