Fertility Fraud

Fertility fraud: People conceived through errors, misdeeds in the industry are pressing for justice

Source Washington Post

Jacoba Ballard was conceived in a brick office building on 86th Street in Indianapolis when fertility doctor Donald Cline inseminated her mother with his own sperm instead of the donor sperm he had promised.

To Ballard, it was an offense akin to rape — one Cline is suspected of repeating with as many as 50 other women. But the law in Indiana, as in most other states, was not written to account for such a crime. So Cline was charged with obstruction of justice, and accused of false advertising and “immoral conduct” in the delivery of services. He lost his medical license, was fined $500 and received a year’s probation.

“My mother was violated. He took advantage of her in one of the most vulnerable moments of her life,” Ballard said. The sentence, she said, was “not enough to send a message.”

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *