A man who thought he was doing a favor has, instead, been told he’s a father. According to published news reports, a Kansas judge ruled that the man’s failure to follow the procedures spelled out in the state’s artificial insemination statute means he is the child’s father in the eyes of the law, and the state can compel him to support the child. (Wisconsin has a similar law and it is likely that if the same situation happened here, the courts would reach the same result.)

The people involved in the arrangement took a “do it yourself” approach, downloading a contract from the internet that they thought took care of the paternity issue. They didn’t consult with medical or legal professionals, who might have advised them of the risks they were taking, and the steps they could take to reduce or eliminate those risks. As a result, they find themselves knee-deep in a mess none of them wanted.

Agreements about a person’s future are kind of a big deal. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is as true today as it was in Benjamin Franklin’s time.