The board also voted to prevent Cline from ever applying to have his license reinstated in the future. Is Dr Donald Cline still a doctor? As another of Cline's children, Jason Hyatt, recalls, he had over 3,000 potential relatives on Ancestry, a DNA-matching website (via Daily Mail). And sometimes they think about how many more half-siblings are out there, yet to take a DNA test that would prove Clines paternity, and whether their children might date each other unawares. From the 1970s through the 1990s, Donald Cline was a renowned fertility specialist in Indiana. Some people online have said hes dead, Ballard told the publication. INDIANAPOLIS- A retired Indianapolis fertility doctor According to a feature in The Atlantic from 2019, the half-siblings have annual picnics on Fathers Day. "I have read people saying they weren't even aware of him and they live in the state of Indiana. As the Cline children unfortunately found out, living too close to too many of your close relatives can create problems. Dr. Donald Cline is still living as a free man in Indianapolis, Indiana according to a 2019 report from The Atlantic. I want laws changed, I want medical professionals to be held accountable, Ms. Ballard said. One person, Jacoba Ballard, took the initiative to find out how many siblings she really had. Dr Donald Cline, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist, has fathered at least 48 kids without their mother's knowing. Jourdan said his words to her were: The world does not need to know.. 2022-05-15 08:37:38 - Paris/France. The accusations against She survives him, along with five daughters, Dr. Beth Klein, Geri Armine-Klein, Dr. As of the Our Father production, there are currently 94 Cline siblings however, its thought that there could be more. Greenwich, Connecticut, quickly settled a 2005 lawsuit for using his own sperm. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Premiering on May 11, the Netflix and . They didn't hide it from her, and in 2019, Ballard decided to see if she had other siblings from the same sperm donor. First, Cline has two children with his wife, Audrey. Burial site and Find a Grave details, Ricou Browning funeral, burial service, pictures, date, time, venue. investigating complaints from two of the now-adult children against him. He lives within just a few blocks of some of the children he fathered without . Image from Netflix. Chiefs receiver finds out on live TV that the Super Bowl . The film-makers also tracked down Cline, who had disappeared from public view, seeking an explanation for his actions. Wage growth is slowing. Ballard with her half-siblings, Heather Woock and Carrie Foster, worked with NPR to create a podcast about their lives, called Sick. His practice was located in Indianapolis, where several patients would consult him regarding pregnancy matters. Tripadvisor names the world's top 25 beaches, three in the U.S. Cline actually confessed to using his own sperm in his patients. Cline is believed to have used his own sperm on patients between 1979 and 1986. Jacoba Ballard is Our Father's protagonist, as the documentary traces her initial discovery, at 35-years-old, that . In the documentary "Our Father," the children of Donald Cline share their stories of how they came to know their half-siblings (via Netflix). Clines attorney, Tracy Betz, released a statement saying he In the '70s and '80s, Donald Cline fathered more than 50 children by using his own sperm in his patients. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/30/us/fertility-doctor-pregnant-women.html. Ballard found out she was the daughter of Cline after taking a DNA test to find her half-siblings. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. In some instances, state prosecutors said, Dr. Cline even told women that he was using their husbands sperm but provided his own. Dr. Cline did not return a phone call requesting comment. An actor portrays Cline in Netflix's new true crime doc. Some siblings met at a yard sale, while others realized they went to college together. As a profession that was often quite secretive in the 1970s, lots of doctors specializing in infertility treatment didn't keep records of their patients. A judge suspended the former doctor's sentence, though Cline did pay a $500 fine and court costs, which totaled $185. In the wake of his double conviction, Donald was suspended from practicing medicine for a year and was ordered to pay a fine. However, The Atlantic reports that Cline was charged with neither rape nor battery with bodily waste, and in most of America, there is no specific law against the actions Cline did to his patients. Through 23andMe, the women discovered that there were eight half siblings, contradicting Dr. Clines assertion that the sperm was used for only three pregnancies. Cline was 79-years-old when he pleaded guilty in December 2017 to two felony counts of obstructing justice, by lying to state investigators about using his own sperm . The fertility doctor inseminated lots of women with his own sperm without their knowledge or consent. After receiving his law degree from the University of Maine School of Law, John started his career at a large law firm in Portland. That number is now almost 100. When Indiana fertility doctor Dr. Donald Cline was charged with obstruction of justice in the fall of 2016, . Now, Dr. Clines former patients and their children are asking enormously consequential questions: How many women did he deceive? Hes not dead. The case against Dr. Cline, and the quest for answers, have been complicated by Indiana state law. Even now, eight years later, she is still discovering new half-siblings regularly. She also received phone calls from Cline asking her not to share the story with any journalists. But as Ballard says, she believes there are more of Cline's kids out there. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Case Type. That we wouldnt maybe date? My heart breaks for all the mothers who were violated by this narcissist. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. The doctor first tried to deny that he was the anonymous sperm donor for many of his patients. Four of the half-siblings filed a complaint about Clines actions to Indianas attorney general, leading to a criminal investigation. felony obstruction of justice charges for misleading authorities who were have a donor sample available, the affidavit said he told them. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. They are also responsible for championing a bill in Indiana that makes misrepresentation in a medical procedure a felony, which was signed into law in May of 2019, making Indiana the first state to criminalize fertility doctors using their own sperm without patient consent. He had an estimated 94 children. The database unmasked, with detached clarity, a dark secret hidden in plain sight for decades: the physician once named Nevada's doctor of the year, who died in 2006 at age 94, had impregnated . Fertility fraud is the failure on the part of a fertility doctor to obtain consent from a patient before inseminating her with his own sperm. Speaking to The Guardian ahead of the Netflix release, Jacoba Ballard revealed a new sibling had been identified via 23AndMe. Maybe he wanted to succeed in his field and thought that his radical methods were helping patients. As Indiana lawmakers first prepared to hold a hearing to discuss a proposed fertility fraud bill, Matt drafted letters to send to individual members. As one person says in Our Father's trailer, "Dr. Cline was the best infertility doctor in Indianapolis." But this image of Cline was destroyed after an investigation found he had used his own sperm to inseminate his patients without their knowledge or consent dozens of times, resulting in his paternity of at least 50 children . Dr. Donald Cline was not convicted with fraud or medical malpractice at the time he stood trial because, in the eyes of the law, he had done nothing illegal. Many physicians donated sperm as medical students in the 1960s and 1970s, and some observers believe that a number of doctors may have gone on to use their own sperm to treat infertility when they were trying to build a reputation for themselves as successful fertility doctors. Appearing alongside Jacoba are Julie Harmon (sibling #14), Matt White (#17), Heather Woock (#22), Lisa Shepherd-Stidham (#33), Jason Hyatt (#48), Carrie Foster (#53), and Alison Kramer (#61). How many kids did Donald Cline father? She was treated at Cline's office between 1981-1982, but she didn't find out what he had done until the 2010s (via The Atlantic). She and her siblings also work closely with organizations like Right to Know, who fight for fertility fraud laws. This normally occurs in the context of people using assisted reproductive technology (ART) to address fertility issues.. Cline is accused of being the biological father of at least The Cline kids find it interesting to discuss his motives: Was it a science experiment, a god complex, a fetish? Anyone can read what you share. Two other half-siblings had children on the same sports team. At the end of the documentary, we're told there are currently 94 children biologically related to Cline. Hes active around his community. But with the introduction of DNA technology, it was quite literally impossible for him to deny how many children he had truly created. The doctor also told them that all his records were shredded and that he did not recall any additional details, according to the complaint. After a woman discovered eight unknown relatives following a commercial DNA test, she learned that her biological father was her mother's fertility doctor, Dr. Donald Cline. Jacoba Ballard is Our Fathers protagonist, as the documentary traces her initial discovery, at 35-years-old, that she had seven half-siblings by taking a DNA test. They have even organised an annual picnic, held over Fathers Day weekend. The Marion County Prosecutors Office, in written responses to questions, said simply that Indiana law has different provisions than in the Virginia case. When Dr. Cline was accused of inseminating multiple women , Audrey denied being aware of her husbands actions. Our Father is unmissable. As for Dr. Donald Cline, his punishment was a $500 fine, one year's probation, and his medical license was permanently revoked (via Daily Mail). According to Netflix, Cline inseminated at least 50 people with his own sperm without their consent, and he has at least 50 children, proven by DNA tests. Despite the seriousness of his actions, Donald Cline was not sentenced to prison. Pic: Kelly Wilkinson,/The Indianapolis Star via AP. The term is also used in cases where donor eggs are used without consent and more broadly, in instances where doctors and other . However, it turned out he had a sickening secret. But when Jacoba Ballard, who knew shed been conceived via donor sperm, set out in 2014 to look into her own ancestry, she accidentally stumbled into his dark, deep secretand 94 and counting of her own half-siblings, also fathered by their mothers fertility doctor. had told his patients they were receiving sperm from medical or dental In 2014, when she was 35 years old, Jacoba took a 23AndMe DNA test and when her results came back as having seven half-siblings, she decided to investigate further. So far, Cline's identified children were born between 1972 and 1988, but Cline practiced until 2009, so there is the unfortunate likelihood that there could be many more children out there. Former fertility specialist, Donald Cline, is the biological father of an estimated 50 plus children Who is Donald Cline? Cline became a popular doctor because he used fresh sperm, instead of frozen, which seemed to result in higher pregnancy rates in his patients. . The Time Ray Liotta Eviscerated Bradley Cooper. my own sample for insemination, he said in a letter to the Indiana Dr. Donald Cline inseminated dozens of women with his own sperm without their knowledge or consent during the 1970s and 1980s. CBS Indianapolis affiliate WTTV reports that, according to court records, Cline said healso felt that he was helping women because they really wanted a baby.. News North Sports Indy 500 Things To Do Opinion Obituaries . What if their children then accidentally date their own relatives? However, he quickly realized that his passion was for working with individuals going through the difficult process of divorce. During his years practicing fertility treatments, Donald deceived his clients on several occasions. In his head, I dont think he thinks hes done much wrong.. More than $1.3 million has been paid in civil suits against a former Indiana fertility doctor who surreptitiously provided his sperm to father at least 94 donor children, FOX59 has learned. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. This means that when assets are divided during the divorce process, the other spouse is legally entitled to half of the value , Admissibility of Recorded Conversations in California Typically, recorded conversations are inadmissible in court as hearsay. This dental device was sold to fix patients' jaws. We may earn a commission from these links. The reason is, as the website exposes ScreenRant, that at the time of his sentence, Indiana did not have any legislation on crimes related to illicit inseminations. What the couples did not know was that on an untold number of occasions, Dr. Cline was not using the sperm of anonymous donors. Dr. Donald Cline inseminated dozens of women with his own sperm without their knowledge or consent during the 1970s and 1980s. I really thought I was going to die." In the 1970s and 80s, when fertility doctor Donald Cline of Indianapolis was swapping out donor sperm without the consent of his patients and instead implanting his own fresh personal supply into them, he likely could not have anticipated the above statistic. Theres times I get really angry. May 22, 2022 4:38 p.m. PT. Unfortunately, Our Father is very much based on a true story. The healthy baby justified the lie. "It doesn't feel like a brand new spotlight on this," Heather adds, "but it's certainly bigger and brighter now.". Was Dr. Donald Cline Convicted of Any Crimes? The investigation into Dr. Cline began in 2014 and 2015, when a group of women including Ms. Ballard filed a complaint against Dr. Cline with Indiana's attorney general, whose office . How Many Kids Does Donald Cline Have? I can emphatically say that at no time did I ever use Sulley Muntari, Agyeman Badu, Asamoah Gyan, others visit Christian Atsus family home, VIDEO: Government will be fully involved in providing Christian Atsu a befitting burial Dr. Bawumia, Christian Atsus mortal remains arrive in Ghana via Turkish Airlines, Maybe I created enemies along the line Kofi Amoabeng on UT Banks collapse, Christian Atsu was one of Ghanas finest personnel Akufo-Addo, This is some food chain story Archipalago shamed for chasing clout with Christian Atsus death. 2 Marion County women are suing the makers of the Netflix documentary "Our Father" for revealing they were secret children of Dr. Donald Cline without their . Filing Number. Their parents fertility doctor had been inseminating patients with his own sperm, without their knowledge or consent, between 1978 and 1988, resulting in the births of at least 94 children.