'Stolen Sperm' Trial Set to Begin in Texas

ByAMANDA KEEGAN ABCNews logo
Tuesday, August 11, 2015

A trial is scheduled to begin in Texas today for a former couple who allege that a sperm bank illegally gave the man's sperm to his ex-girlfriend, who had a baby with the sperm.

Louisiana residents Layne Hardin and Katherine LeBlanc, then domestic partners, decided to store Hardin's sperm in 2002 before he had a vasectomy. The couple visited a fertility center and had eight vials of sperm stored, according to their lawsuit, which was filed in Harris County District Court in Texas, where the facility is located.

In the event that the couple separated, LeBlanc was to decide what to do with the samples, according to the lawsuit, originally filed in 2013.

The couple did separate, and Hardin began dating another woman, Tobie Devall.

Hardin and Devall visited the clinic in 2008 before breaking up in 2009.

Devall was given two samples of Hardin's sperm - without LeBlanc's consent, despite the agreement - and became pregnant, having a son in 2010, according to the lawsuit.

LeBlanc said she was devastated that the samples were used without her consent.

"There was a reason for having his sperm preserved, and it was for me to have a biological sibling for my son," LeBlanc said. "That was for me to decide how to use."

In the lawsuit, Hardin and LeBlanc are seeking judgment against Devall, as well as the clinic where the sperm was stored, now known as Texas Andrology Services.

Devall's attorney did not respond to ABC News' request for comment. In a 2013 countersuit, Devall alleged that Hardin gave his permission for her to use the sample.

Jim Edwards, an attorney for Texas Andrology Services, says Hardin never notified the clinic that he didn't want Devall to have his sperm.

"Mr. Harden has got some obligation to let people know he's changed his mind," Edwards said.

Cade Bernsen, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the case reflects the need for better checks and balances at sperm banks.

"There are more security checks in place for me going and buying alcohol at a gas station than there were for her to receive a man's DNA and the building blocks of life," Bernsen said.

Hardin and Devall's son is now 5 years old. Hardin says he has never met the boy, and says he has spent more than $50,000 in court and attorney fees fighting the termination of his parental rights.

"One day we are going to run into each other, and what do we say?" Hardin said. "Do I recognize him? Will he recognize me?"

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