00:00 00:00 An unknown error has occurred Author: WTHR.com staff When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. From the 1970s through the 1990s, Donald Cline was a renowned fertility specialist in Indiana. Warning: If you haven't seen the documentary, this article contains spoilers and some material that may be upsetting. Instead of destroying, you made me realize my self-worth, she says of the doctor in the film. The new Netflix documentary 'Our Father' details how Dr. Donald Cline, a fertility specialist in Indianapolis, Indiana, used his own sperm to inseminate patients without their consent There is no federal law against it. Our Father tells the jaw-dropping true story of Don Cline, a fertility doctor in Indiana who inseminated over 90 patients with his own sperm, without their consent. He retired in 2009, but carried out his transgressions from his Indianapolis offices during the late 1970s and early 80s without repercussions. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. All rights reserved. There is no Federal legislation specifically applicable to fertility fraud. An Update on Where Dr. Donald Cline From "Our Father" Is Now. Donald Cline's fertility fraud is the subject of a Netflix documentary titled Our Father which premiered in May 2022. During the 1970s and 80s, a fertility specialist in Indiana named Dr. Donald Cline inseminated dozens of patients with his own sperm, without their knowledge or consent. The obstruction of justice charges meant that no evidence related to Clines actions toward his former patients was admissiblethough those actions constituted the injustice for which the siblings and their parents were truly seeking restitution. Its just too fked up. With the growing popularity of at-home DNA test kits, an additional 44 fertility doctors nationwide have also been exposed for committing similar misdeeds. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Her devastated spouse howled, Hes taken everything away from me.. The film, which premieres on Netflix on May 11, follows the biological children of the disgraced fertility doctor who covertly inseminated dozens of patients with his own sperm during his 40-year career. All Rights Reserved. I dont deny that it was a sexual violation, a talking head states in the trailer. He also has connections to Quiverfull, a Christian movement that encourages having as many children as possible. such as the widely covered case of Dr Donald Cline in . Cline's case is the subject of Our Father, a new documentary about what happened when one of Cline's biological children took an at-home DNA test, discovered the shocking truth and attempted to get justice through the legal system. Here's what we do know. Even after taking a 23andMe DNA test and being matched as Ballards half sibling, Kramer couldnt bring herself to believe that she was not the biological daughter of the man she grew up believing was her father, Clines pal Farber. The new Netflix documentary Our Father tells the unsettling story of Dr. Donald Cline, a fertility doctor who was found to have inseminated dozens of women with his own sperm without their knowledge. 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Dr. Donald Cline is the subject of Netflix's latest true crime documentary, Our Father, which puts him in the spotlight for fathering close to 100 children during his stint as a fertility clinic owner. Lucie Jourdan makes her directorial documentary debut with the film, which comes from Netflix and Blumhouse Pictures. In 2017, Cline was convicted on two felony counts for obstructing the state attorney general's investigation into the matter. During this time, hopeful. Imagine finding out you have more siblings than you think The Netflix documentary follows the investigation into Dr. Donald Cline after it's uncovered that he inseminated patients with his sperm without her knowledge. Although Cline reigns as the most prolific US physician to wrongfully inseminate patients with his semen, he is hardly alone. Ballard, who performed a home DNA test in 2014, said she was shocked to discover that her biological father was Dr. Donald Cline, the prominent fertility specialist who treated her mom in 1979. Then DNA testing came along", "Biological children of fertility doctor and their mothers bond to fight", "Watch The Exclusive Trailer For 'Our Father,' Netflix's Latest True Crime Doc", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Donald_Cline&oldid=1141633962, People convicted of obstruction of justice, Pages using infobox criminal with known for parameter, Pages containing links to subscription-only content, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Inseminating his own sperm into unwitting patients and fathering 94 doctor-conceived children, Decided; plea guilty, one-year suspended sentence, fine $500; petition for AMS filed and denied. In the meantime, you can watch the trailer below. One of his former patients interviewed for the Atlantic story, Liz White, told the magazine the former doctor lives down the street over there. Parents who desperately wanted. But years later, when a 23andMe match and a DNA test proved that her daughter and Ballard were blood relatives, and the truth of Clines trickery came out, it nearly destroyed Kieslers family. He didnt give me a choice.. "[16], As of May 2022, Cline had paid out more than $1.35 million to settle three civil lawsuits filed by donor children and families. Urges the legislative council to assign the topic of fertility laws, including gestational surrogacy, to an appropriate study committee. "[13], Ganote told DeLaney that Cline was lying to them. 470, This story has been shared 436 times. (He sent a letter to AG office denying that he used his sperm after the office sent him notification of the investigation that Ballard had initiated.) The more we destigmatize infertility, combined with technological advances, the less likely it is for a doctor to do this again today.". According to prosecutors at the time, however, Cline did not commit rape against the women he inseminated with his own sperm without their knowledge or consent. I donated my sample. Black-Led TV Shows, The Best True Crime Documentaries to Stream Now, Couple Meets Triplets Born from Their Donated Embryos 20 Years Ago: 'It's Been Amazing', Fertility Doctor Impregnated Patients with His Own Sperm and Biological Children Are Speaking Out, Idaho Murder Suspect: What We Know About Bryan Kohberger, Mom Says Daughter Is 'Whole Now' After Meeting Chilean Birth Mother from Whom She Was Stolen, The Best TV Shows on Amazon Prime Video to Stream Now, Serial Killers' Kids who Turned in Their Parents or Spoke Out About Growing Up with Them, Paralympic Swimmer Mallory Weggemann and Husband Jay Snyder Open Up About Their Fertility Journey, N.J. Woman Sues Doc for 'Medical Rape,' Saying Home DNA Kit Shows He Fathered Her Baby Without Her Consent, A Complete Timeline of Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga's Feud, Chrissy Teigen and John Legend's Relationship Timeline. Woock says she hopes the documentary will "prompt Cline's former patients to have an open conversation with their children, so they can take DNA tests to confirm their genetic identities. "I was still the same person, but my understanding of my history had flipped upside down.". Over the next eight years, she found a staggering 94 (and counting) fair-haired brothers and sisters and one man at the root of their sordid family tree. Ballard, 41, and her half siblings' quest to find answers and justice is the focus of the new Netflix documentary, Our Father, produced by Blumhouse Television, which is streaming now. "Thanks to accessible DNA testing, these perpetrators are finally being caught and exposed, and forced into a spotlight they never imagined.". Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Finding out that I had siblings was amazing, Ballard admitted. Nonetheless, Our Father doles out a stinging serving of Netflix justice, laying bare the renowned physician's practice of deceptively inseminating patients with his own sperm, the result being the birth of 94 children and counting. But legally theres just no crime that touches this particular act.. This seems relevant to this article about the life of Don Cline. We want to hear it. Spice up your small talk with the latest tech news, products and reviews. I mean, here she was, this young woman just wanting to have a family like anyone else., In the film, Liz says when she learned that her son shared Clines DNA she felt like I was raped 15 times and I didnt even know it.. Here are answers to the major questions I had after watching Our Father. [10] During her investigation, Ganote learned that Cline had lied to the attorney general's office in their investigation. The synopsis reads: Jacoba Ballard was an only child, conceived via donor sperm, who always dreamed of having a brother or sister. He did this without their consent or knowledge; Cline's patients were under the impression they were receiving sperm from donors. "No consent. 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There isn't currently a federal law that would make these doctors' illicit inseminations a criminal offense. He also began obliquely threatening the siblings with retribution should they continue their effort to bring charges against him and take their story public. Cline opened his practice in 1979 and is believed to have inseminated women with his own sperm until 1986. We were told there were no laws to charge Cline or others that would engage in similar deplorable actions and the only thing to do would be to create a law. As the story of deception unfolds, mothers are tasked with revealing to their partners that their sperm had been discarded and replaced with the doctor they had trusted to perform a routine procedure decades earlier. Phil in December 2019 that she was finally able to accept the truth. No one in the office? As is often and infuriatingly the case in the U.S. justice system, in order to pursue Cline for the crime he had committed, it was necessary to prosecute him for something else. Reproductive endocrinologist & infertility specialist, Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital, "Donald Lee Cline in the Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944", "Donald Cline: The Fertility Doctor Accused of Fraud: Donald Cline secretly used his own sperm to impregnate fertility patients more than 50 times, but committed no crime with the lewd betrayals. Cline committed rape, is a legal assertion that was not true, and I wasnt going to put it on paper with my signature, Tim Delaney, who was working in the prosecutors office in 2015, says in the film. In 2017, Cline pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice, admitting he'd inseminated his patients without their consent or knowledge, Newsweek reports. White went to Purdue at the same time as one of his half brothers. He kept a low profile and still had many supporters in the community. Cline was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice in 2017 after he lied to investigators with the Indiana Attorney General's office (the Netflix documentary reveals he denied ever using his own sperm in legal paperwork), but he didn't get jail time. I know Im going to call them and Im going to ruin their life, she says in the documentary. Fertility Doctor Allegedly Used His Own Sperm 50 Times to Impregnate Patients, Cold Cases Heat Up: How Advances in DNA Technology Are Helping to Bring Justice for Victims, Our Favorite (Underrated!) The Medical Licensing Board of Indiana revoked his license in 2018. Where is Donald Cline? Glamour may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. At the end, it's revealed that there are at least 94 Cline siblings. He has brown eyes, white skin, grey hair, and a grey beard. Cline has reportedly since moved on to a different church. The lug nuts disappeared off Ballards car one day, she shares in the film. There is still no federal law on the subject. And you made me realize what my purpose is, too.. It's no easy task. He also has a chest-to-waist and bicep ratio of 40-36-15. In 2019, Indiana passed a state law (opens in new tab) in response to Cline's actions, with several of his victims and biological children helping push it through. I [told my husband], Unfortunately, Dr. Cline didnt use your sperm, he used his own. [1][2] It is believed that between 1974 and 1987, Cline conceived numerous children without disclosing himself as the sperm donor to his patients. Ballard learned at age 10 that she was conceived via donor sperm. This is despite the victims interviewed in the documentary saying that they never would've consented to him being the sperm donor, and that they felt violated by what he did. and Indianapolis Infertility, Inc", "Ex-fertility doctor who used own sperm must face civil lawsuit, COA affirms", "Fertility doctor Donald Cline pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice related to claims he inseminated some patients", "Fertility Fraud: A Fertility Industry Danger", "A press for justice on reproductive fraud", "6 questions for woman who brought down fertility doctor", "Zipping into statutes: Overview of new laws for 2019", "Legislative Update: Fertility fraud and deception", "Fertility Doctors Used Their Sperm to Get Patients Pregnant. Cline has passed on ailments and diseases to his children As mentioned throughout the documentary, many of the Cline children have autoimmune diseases. Want CNET to notify you of price drops and the latest stories? Will There Be a Season 2 of '1923' on Paramount+? A judge suspended the former doctor's sentence, though Cline did pay a $500 fine and court costs, which totaled $185. Jacoba Ballard is Our Father's protagonist, as the documentary traces her initial discovery, at 35-years-old, that she had seven half-siblings by taking a DNA test. Netflix's new documentary exposes the shocking plot that Dr Donald Cline implemented in the late 70s and 80s - but where is he now? 1,794, This story has been shared 1,672 times. It teases the story of Dr. Donald Cline, a former fertility doctor who used his own sperm in donations which resulted in his fathering at least 50 children throughout the 1970s and '80s. Dr. Donald Cline has been famous in the media as the fertility doctor who inseminated his sperm into several women without consent. New York, Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? 541, This story has been shared 470 times. Directed by Lucie Jourdan, Our Father zooms in on Zionsville, Indiana, where 35-year-old Jacoba Ballards DNA test reveals the existence of seven half-siblings. He also often repeated a Biblical phrase from Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in your mothers womb, I knew you." It sounds almost too twisted to be real, but unfortunately, Our Father is an investigative documentary, and Dr. Donald Cline is a real man. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. A new Netflix documentary tells the sickening true story of Dr. Donald Cline, a fertility specialist who inseminated patients with his own spermresulting in at least 94 children. So, were just now finding out that Julie is not yours, Kiesler recalled. A test confirmed they were half-sisters, and revealed yet more matches. In a written directors statement for the Our Father press notes, director Lucie Jourdan said that Cline did everything in his power to silence [the siblings] and the making of this film. He reportedly told Jourdan, The world doesnt need to know., This story has been shared 1,794 times. The film explores the real-life story of the disgraced doctor, who . Sibling Jason Hyatt also speculated about Cline's motive: "Is it to further his career? Robert Colver, Cline's former partner at work, and Jan Shore, his former nurse, deny having any knowledge of Cline's actions. [27][28] In an extended profile piece in The Atlantic, reporter Sarah Zhang wrote: The donor children have begun cataloging the ways their own paths have crossed, too. The documentary does point out that Cline was extremely religious, with numerous Christian sayings decorating his office, and is an elder in his church. According to the documentary, Cline may have fathered more than 94 children in the 1970s and 1980s. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. The siblings acknowledge that without hearing the truth from Cline, they only have theories. Keith Boyle as Dr. Donald Cline in "Our Father" (Netflix) Netflix's latest documentary feature "Our Father" is an intricate real-life horror tale about fertility fraud that manages to grow. He was my main GYN He did my pap exams, he did breast exams.. The streaming platform Netflix premieres on May 11 documentary film "Our Father", 331, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), 'Jeopardy!' That we wouldnt have kids who might date? It just completely washes away your identity, Julie Harmon, another sibling, says. Ballards mother, Debbie Pierce, sought Clines help with getting pregnant in 1979, after it was determined that her husband couldnt have children naturally. One of Clines children, Jacoba Ballard, was the first to uncover the story, and now she and her many half-siblings want to get their story out there to as many people as possibleespecially because it might be the only form of justice they may get. Cline was a successful fertility doctor who practiced medicine in Indiana, providing treatments such as IVF for hundreds if not thousands of patients, according to IndyStar. At the time The Atlantic's 2019 article on Cline was published, he was in his 80s and still living in his home town of Indianapolis, Indiana. Donald Cline Career, Our Father Documentary Netflix & TV Shows. Too.. it & # x27 ; s fertility fraud including gestational,! ], Ganote learned that Cline had lied to the attorney general 's in. Motive: `` is it to further his career there is n't currently a federal law on the.! 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Kits, an additional 44 fertility doctors nationwide have also been exposed committing! 541, this article about the life of Don Cline retribution should they continue their effort to bring charges him... Has brown eyes, white skin, grey hair, and a grey beard they were receiving sperm from.... 13 ], Ganote told DeLaney that Cline had lied to the major questions I had after Our! Kept a low Profile and still had many supporters in the community he was my main GYN did! Latest crime coverage career, Our Father & quot ; is Now general 's office in investigation! You made me realize my self-worth, she says in the trailer below that it a! & quot ; is Now particular act a chest-to-waist and bicep ratio of 40-36-15 the legislative to! Julie Harmon, another sibling, says the community instead of destroying, you made realize... 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