Conservative Christian Politician Secretly Donates Sperm to Lesbian Couples
Bill Johnson, a Christian politician, has been exposed as the sperm donor for several lesbian couples after campaigning against gay marriage.
The former American politician created an online profile, “chchbill,” and sought out at least nine New Zealand women who were unable to have children. Three of the women are now pregnant, but none of them - until now, presumably - knew that Johnson has a family back in the U.S.
Johnson, a known conservative, ran a campaign for the governorship of Alabama in 2009. Since the campaign, he has moved to Christchurch, New Zealand to help organize the earthquake recovery effort in Haiti.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
While he was on the southernmost island of New Zealand, Johnson found the three women who would eventually become mothers carrying his children. To the former political candidate, the compulsion to have children was greater than his previous beliefs about gay marriage.
“Reproduction and having children is as basic a human need as eating,” Johnson told The New Zealand Herald, “(Reproduction is) a need that I have.”
Johnson’s wife, Kathy, was the former Miss Alabama, and twice competed for the title of Miss America unsuccessfully. The beautiful pageant winner had a hysterectomy 10 years ago, however, so the chance of the couple having kids wasn’t just unlikely, it was impossible.
This created some considerable tension in the marriage.
Johnson said that he had told his wife about his desire to donate sperm and father biological children, and soon after, the couple sought counseling.
It is unclear if Kathy knew that her husband would move forward with the sperm donation, but when asked about the three pregnancies, Johnson succinctly said, “she knows now.”
Johnson said he was motivated by the birth of his first grandchild. Holding the new life in his hands, he says, sparked his need to procreate and was a catalyst to the situation he finds himself mired in today.
His plans extend beyond donating sperm too. The organizer also wants to become a father figure - as close as possible to an actual father, without being one - to the kids, if the women will allow him. How this would fit into the lesbian family dynamic is questionable, especially if the women viewed Johnson as a donor, not a potential family friend.
Johnson refused to reveal much about the donors, simply saying that he was unaware of the “relationship status” of the women to which he donated. When asked whether the couples’ gay marriage was an issue, he balked, saying, “I’m not going to answer that question,” reports The New Zealand Herald.
Johnson’s controversial actions could have consequences.
Fertility clinics usually have recommended limits for donations from one person, which Johnson could have exceeded, though he claims he did not. In addition, the recipients of his sperm are also ignorant of his donations to other women, which could potentially cause problems when the expectant mothers find out.
Regardless, the soon-to-be biological father will do his best to help the women, and has already begun financial support to one of them. He also wants to remain in New Zealand to be close to the kids when they are born.
"I've been trying to get my wife over here, my family over here ... so I can be around for these children," Johnson said.
