Hoax or not?

A week or so back, someone posted in this group a news story about a
Connecticut woman who was suing her ex-boyfriend because he had failed to
tell her that he had had a vasectomy. Supposedly, she had tried to trick
him into making her pregnant by stopping taking her birth control pills.

I have been unable to get independent verification of this story. I
would like confirmation that it is true, and not merely a hoax. Can anyone,
particularly the original poster, say where this supposed news story can be
found? Otherwise, I will have to assume that it is a hoax.

I recently had contact with a well-known author who writes on gender
issues from the male perspective, and I would like to let him know about
this case. However, I don't want to do so if the story is just a fairy
tale. It seemed improbable, but all kinds of improbable things happen in
this area.

Ken, here's a copy of the header I have from my reply to the OP.. You might
want to ask him to repost the message, complete with link.

"Samuel Lang" wrote in message
news:KsF0e.66616$7z6.29648@lakeread04...

Woman Sues Man Who Lied About Fertility

by Tom Williams / The Connecticut Courier



"Kenneth S." wrote in message
...
A week or so back, someone posted in this group a news story about a
Connecticut woman who was suing her ex-boyfriend because he had failed to
tell her that he had had a vasectomy. Supposedly, she had tried to trick
him into making her pregnant by stopping taking her birth control pills.

I have been unable to get independent verification of this story. I
would like confirmation that it is true, and not merely a hoax. Can
anyone,
particularly the original poster, say where this supposed news story can
be
found? Otherwise, I will have to assume that it is a hoax.

I recently had contact with a well-known author who writes on gender
issues from the male perspective, and I would like to let him know about
this case. However, I don't want to do so if the story is just a fairy
tale. It seemed improbable, but all kinds of improbable things happen in
this area.

Below is the article Ken is asking about. Other then what you see here, I
have no other information on the article in question.

It was originally posted: Thursday, March 24, 2005 at 4:32 PM.

The OP is:

"Samuel Lang" wrote in message
news:KsF0e.66616$7z6.29648@lakeread04...

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Woman Sues Man Who Lied About Fertility

by Tom Williams / The Connecticut Courier


When Andrew Haum began his relationship with Lindsey Becker, he
neglected to tell her that he had undergone a medical procedure known as
vasectomy that rendered him completely infertile. Three years later,
Becker was cleaning Haum's desk in the apartment they shared and
happened upon documents informing her of her then-boyfriend's condition.
Incensed, she ended the relationship and ordered Haum out of the
apartment.

"I got [the vasectomy] as soon as I moved out of my father's house, when
I was 25", explained the 31-year-old Haum. "I'd seen what had happened
to my father because of my mother, who wouldn't let him see me and made
things very difficult for him. I didn't want to go through that myself
so I had a sample of my sperm frozen and then had the vasectomy done. I
figured if I ever wanted to have kids I could have a procedure done with
the frozen sperm, and in the meantime I was in the clear."

Haum's father was never married to his mother, a woman he met "while
clubbing" and never had a serious relationship with. "She made it very
difficult for him," says Haum. "She never let him see me and made all
kinds of demands, taking him to court several times a year. She had
some severe problems and when I turned 18 I left her house to move in
with him, even though I barely knew him. He was good enough to take me
in when I needed it."

Despite Haum's rather extreme precautions, he finds himself in the very
situation he had hoped to avoid -- ex-girlfriend Lindsey Becker is
taking him to court over a reproductive matter.

"He lied to me," claims Becker. "He told me he was worried about having
kids before he was ready, and he made me get on the pill. He deluded me
and I feel emotionally devastated."

The case takes a strange twist, as Becker claims she had stopped taking
her antifertility drugs eighteen months previous to discovering that
Haum was infertile.

"I wanted to get pregnant. He was, like, I don't want kids yet, and I
knew all he really needed was a little push in the right direction. I
knew he'd never agree to it if I asked him so I did what I had to do.
I'll admit it wasn't ideal but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as what he
did to me."

Julia Morgan, an attorney who will be representing Becker in her suit,
explains. "Mr. Haum's lies were a direct cause of my client's being
deluded into thinking she could conceive a child with him by ceasing her
antifertility regimen and continuing her relationship with him. She had
reached a point twenty months previous to learning the truth where she
was prepared to end the relationship with him and seek out a new partner
who would be receptive to having children. Thus, his false implications
of his own fertility were a direct impingement on her reproductive rights."

Ms. Becker is seeking over $25,000 in damages for "emotional torment" as
a direct result of Mr. Haum's alleged dishonesty. "I'm dumbstruck,"
said Haum when questioned about his reaction to the lawsuit. "I really
can't think of adequate words to say."

This lawsuit should be thrown out. Assuming it is real, do you have a
site?

This man had no obligation to tell her anything about his reproduction
status. She was on BC and then wanted to trick him into fatherhood, now
she is suing because she could not do this. How rediculous. This man
leads to countersue her for emotional distress caused by this frivelous
suit and all his legal expenses (real or fabricated). Or maybe he
should sue her for attempting to trick him into fatherhood. Lying is
perfectly legal. So is not telling someone something. She has no
grounds for suit.

Thanks, Dusty, but what I am really looking for is some independent
authentication of this message.

Apparently, there is a newspaper called the Connecticut Courier, based in
Bridgeport, Conn. However, I have been unable to find its website. I also
have been unable to find this story elsewhere on the Internet, after
searching on the names of the parties. The only thing I have not done so
far is check to see if a legal directory lists an attorney in Connecticut or
nearby called Julia Morgan. I'll do that when I next have access to
Martindale Hubble, the leading legal directory.

The story is written in a news style, but all other signs so far are that it
is untrue, and a deliberate hoax. While the mainstream media has a
predominantly feminist anti-male slant, this story -- if true -- is so
unusual that I would have expected it to have been picked up elsewhere,
despite the media slant. So far, I haven't seen it anywhere but in this
news group.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dusty"
Newsgroups: alt.child-support
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 8:00 PM
Subject: In case anyone's wondering..


Below is the article Ken is asking about. Other then what you see here, I
have no other information on the article in question.

It was originally posted: Thursday, March 24, 2005 at 4:32 PM.

The OP is:

"Samuel Lang" wrote in message
news:KsF0e.66616$7z6.29648@lakeread04...

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Woman Sues Man Who Lied About Fertility

by Tom Williams / The Connecticut Courier


When Andrew Haum began his relationship with Lindsey Becker, he
neglected to tell her that he had undergone a medical procedure known as
vasectomy that rendered him completely infertile. Three years later,
Becker was cleaning Haum's desk in the apartment they shared and
happened upon documents informing her of her then-boyfriend's condition.
Incensed, she ended the relationship and ordered Haum out of the
apartment.

"I got [the vasectomy] as soon as I moved out of my father's house, when
I was 25", explained the 31-year-old Haum. "I'd seen what had happened
to my father because of my mother, who wouldn't let him see me and made
things very difficult for him. I didn't want to go through that myself
so I had a sample of my sperm frozen and then had the vasectomy done. I
figured if I ever wanted to have kids I could have a procedure done with
the frozen sperm, and in the meantime I was in the clear."

Haum's father was never married to his mother, a woman he met "while
clubbing" and never had a serious relationship with. "She made it very
difficult for him," says Haum. "She never let him see me and made all
kinds of demands, taking him to court several times a year. She had
some severe problems and when I turned 18 I left her house to move in
with him, even though I barely knew him. He was good enough to take me
in when I needed it."

Despite Haum's rather extreme precautions, he finds himself in the very
situation he had hoped to avoid -- ex-girlfriend Lindsey Becker is
taking him to court over a reproductive matter.

"He lied to me," claims Becker. "He told me he was worried about having
kids before he was ready, and he made me get on the pill. He deluded me
and I feel emotionally devastated."

The case takes a strange twist, as Becker claims she had stopped taking
her antifertility drugs eighteen months previous to discovering that
Haum was infertile.

"I wanted to get pregnant. He was, like, I don't want kids yet, and I
knew all he really needed was a little push in the right direction. I
knew he'd never agree to it if I asked him so I did what I had to do.
I'll admit it wasn't ideal but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as what he
did to me."

Julia Morgan, an attorney who will be representing Becker in her suit,
explains. "Mr. Haum's lies were a direct cause of my client's being
deluded into thinking she could conceive a child with him by ceasing her
antifertility regimen and continuing her relationship with him. She had
reached a point twenty months previous to learning the truth where she
was prepared to end the relationship with him and seek out a new partner
who would be receptive to having children. Thus, his false implications
of his own fertility were a direct impingement on her reproductive
rights."

Ms. Becker is seeking over $25,000 in damages for "emotional torment" as
a direct result of Mr. Haum's alleged dishonesty. "I'm dumbstruck,"
said Haum when questioned about his reaction to the lawsuit. "I really
can't think of adequate words to say."

I've been doing some checking of my own this past week, and haven't
discovered much of anything. The only attorney I could find (via name
match) was a Julie Morgan in CT.

A search of other lead names in the story also didn't pan out. And a search
for the CT Courier proved fruitless as well (no web site - though, I, too
found it to be Bridgeport).

I wonder if the OP would be kind enough to enlighten us...

"Kenneth S." wrote in message
...
Thanks, Dusty, but what I am really looking for is some independent
authentication of this message.

Apparently, there is a newspaper called the Connecticut Courier, based in
Bridgeport, Conn. However, I have been unable to find its website. I
also
have been unable to find this story elsewhere on the Internet, after
searching on the names of the parties. The only thing I have not done so
far is check to see if a legal directory lists an attorney in Connecticut
or
nearby called Julia Morgan. I'll do that when I next have access to
Martindale Hubble, the leading legal directory.

The story is written in a news style, but all other signs so far are that
it
is untrue, and a deliberate hoax. While the mainstream media has a
predominantly feminist anti-male slant, this story -- if true -- is so
unusual that I would have expected it to have been picked up elsewhere,
despite the media slant. So far, I haven't seen it anywhere but in this
news group.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dusty"
Newsgroups: alt.child-support
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 8:00 PM
Subject: In case anyone's wondering..


Below is the article Ken is asking about. Other then what you see here,
I
have no other information on the article in question.

It was originally posted: Thursday, March 24, 2005 at 4:32 PM.

The OP is:

"Samuel Lang" wrote in message
news:KsF0e.66616$7z6.29648@lakeread04...

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Woman Sues Man Who Lied About Fertility

by Tom Williams / The Connecticut Courier


When Andrew Haum began his relationship with Lindsey Becker, he
neglected to tell her that he had undergone a medical procedure known as
vasectomy that rendered him completely infertile. Three years later,
Becker was cleaning Haum's desk in the apartment they shared and
happened upon documents informing her of her then-boyfriend's condition.
Incensed, she ended the relationship and ordered Haum out of the
apartment.

"I got [the vasectomy] as soon as I moved out of my father's house, when
I was 25", explained the 31-year-old Haum. "I'd seen what had happened
to my father because of my mother, who wouldn't let him see me and made
things very difficult for him. I didn't want to go through that myself
so I had a sample of my sperm frozen and then had the vasectomy done. I
figured if I ever wanted to have kids I could have a procedure done with
the frozen sperm, and in the meantime I was in the clear."

Haum's father was never married to his mother, a woman he met "while
clubbing" and never had a serious relationship with. "She made it very
difficult for him," says Haum. "She never let him see me and made all
kinds of demands, taking him to court several times a year. She had
some severe problems and when I turned 18 I left her house to move in
with him, even though I barely knew him. He was good enough to take me
in when I needed it."

Despite Haum's rather extreme precautions, he finds himself in the very
situation he had hoped to avoid -- ex-girlfriend Lindsey Becker is
taking him to court over a reproductive matter.

"He lied to me," claims Becker. "He told me he was worried about having
kids before he was ready, and he made me get on the pill. He deluded me
and I feel emotionally devastated."

The case takes a strange twist, as Becker claims she had stopped taking
her antifertility drugs eighteen months previous to discovering that
Haum was infertile.

"I wanted to get pregnant. He was, like, I don't want kids yet, and I
knew all he really needed was a little push in the right direction. I
knew he'd never agree to it if I asked him so I did what I had to do.
I'll admit it wasn't ideal but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as what he
did to me."

Julia Morgan, an attorney who will be representing Becker in her suit,
explains. "Mr. Haum's lies were a direct cause of my client's being
deluded into thinking she could conceive a child with him by ceasing her
antifertility regimen and continuing her relationship with him. She had
reached a point twenty months previous to learning the truth where she
was prepared to end the relationship with him and seek out a new partner
who would be receptive to having children. Thus, his false implications
of his own fertility were a direct impingement on her reproductive
rights."

Ms. Becker is seeking over $25,000 in damages for "emotional torment" as
a direct result of Mr. Haum's alleged dishonesty. "I'm dumbstruck,"
said Haum when questioned about his reaction to the lawsuit. "I really
can't think of adequate words to say."