Jonathan Jacob Meijer, the Dutch artist accused of fathering over 550 children, has been brought to court amid allegations that his “generous” gifts raise the “potential of accidental incest.”
Meijer, from The Hague, was blacklisted in 2017 after the Dutch Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology notified him that he had fathered 102 children through ten separate clinics in the Netherlands.
The 41-year-old, who The New York Times describes as a “serial sperm donor,” is alleged to have continued to advertise his services via websites and social media platforms.
The Donorkind Foundation, a sperm clinic, has filed a lawsuit against the musician for “violating the agreement” with clinics and acting in a way that is “hazardous to the mental health” of donor children.
His behavior was also said to have increased the children’s risk of “inbreeding, incest or psychological problems.”
Donorkind wants a court to order Meijer to stop donating and to find out which clinics he has donated to.
The musician is accused of misleading hundreds of women by telling them he would only help conceive a maximum of 25 children.
“By preferring his reproductive urge, the donor is acting unlawfully. This behavior is dangerous for the mental well-being and health of donor children,” Mark de Hek, Donorkind’s lawyer, said.
“’In addition, he violates the agreements with the clinics and with the prospective parents, because they trusted his promise that he would father a maximum of 25 children.”
On his part, Ties van der Meer, the Donorkind Foundation chairman, said: “We are taking action against this man because the government is doing nothing.
“He has a global reach via the internet and he does business with large, international sperm banks.”
Eva, a Dutch woman who had a child with Meijer in 2018, is also suing the musician.
She said Meijer needs to be stopped. Eva added that going to court is her “only option to protect my child.”
“If I had known he had already fathered more than 100 children I would never have chosen him,” she said.
“If I think about the consequences this could have for my child I am sick to my stomach. Many mothers have told him he needs to stop, but nothing helps.
“So going to court is the only option I have to protect my child.”
According to Donorkind, the musician has continued to donate abroad despite being on a contribution blacklist in the Netherlands.
Meijer is claimed to have met prospective parents asking for home insemination through social media and has shown no signs of modifying his ways.
