Sperm theft case sent to civil court

Man who claims his ex-wife became pregnant by stealing a batch of his frozen sperm has his lawsuit dismissed by the Appeals Court.

Haneen Dajani

ABU DHABI // A man who claims his former wife became pregnant after stealing a batch of his frozen sperm has been told to take his case to the Civil Court.

The Appeals Court this week rejected an earlier verdict clearing the wife, a nurse and a fertility clinic of conspiring to steal the sperm.

But it also ruled that the case was outside its jurisdiction and that he should take it to the Civil Court.

FS, an Emirati, divorced his Russian wife AA after she failed to become pregnant in two courses of fertility treatment at a UAE clinic.

He claims that, before the divorce was finalised, she stole a batch of his frozen sperm from the UAE clinic before taking it to Russia, where she continued fertility treatment and became pregnant.

Four months after the divorce was finalised she gave birth to a girl and filed a lawsuit against him, demanding he register the girl under his name.

The father filed a countersuit against his former wife and the UAE clinic, alleging his signature had been forged on forms giving his consent to use the sperm.