A British firefighter who donated his sperm so a lesbian couple could have two children says he's being forced to pay child support, despite being assured he would not have to be involved in the upbringing of their young boy and girl or have any financial responsibility towards them. Andy Bathie, 37, has launched unprecedented court action in an attempt to ensure he cannot be recognised as a legal parent to the children. The British government's Child Support Agency has begun docking his pay by £450 a month to force him to contribute to the children's upbringing because the lesbian couple have split up. "These women wanted to be parents and take on all the responsibilities that brings," he told the Evening Standard newspaper. "I would never have agreed to this unless they had been living as a committed family. "And now I can't afford to have children with my own wife - it's crippling me financially." The mother of the children, Terri Arnold, responds that Bathie has behaved as a full-time father, deciding to regularly see the children. "He was Uncle Andy but after the christening he said he didn't want to be the uncle - he wanted to be the daddy. He was seeing her roughly once a month - she would stay over at his house," she told GMTV. Arnold added: "We've got photographs of our little girl at his home, we've got a box full of birthday and Christmas cards from him saying 'from daddy.' "You can't play at being a dad for two years and then just leave. Our little girl kept asking when she was going to see her daddy again - what can you say to a child? "The money is not for me, it's for their food, clothes and shoes. This is about a principle and I'll fight all the way," she promised. "He wanted to be a father but he doesn't want the financial responsibility."
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 5th December 2007 - 11:14am