Doctor sued for using his own sperm to fertilize many infertile patients

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Dr. Burton Caldwell of New Haven, Connecticut are Janine Pierson and her mother.

Pierson, 36, told The Hill that she was an only child and that her parents had undergone fertility treatment in the 1980s to conceive her. The family has long believed that doctors used her father’s sperm to impregnate her mother.

Doctor sued for using his own sperm to fertilize many infertile patients - 1

In 2022, curious about her father's descendants and blood relatives, Pierson took a DNA test from the ancestry, kinship, and health information service 23andme. She was shocked to discover that she had 19 half-siblings when she received the results.

Pierson was skeptical at first, but subsequent validation efforts have proven the 23andme results to be accurate. Her newly discovered half-siblings now number 22, with the oldest being 50 and the youngest 35.

Pierson said that a week later, one of her half-sisters contacted her. Through conversation, she learned that her mother and other women had been to Dr. Caldwell’s facility in New Haven for infertility treatment.

Pierson then called her mother and had “the most difficult conversation” of her life. The mother and daughter later sued Dr. Caldwell for inseminating the patients with his sperm without their knowledge or consent.

Angela Mattie, a professor at Quinnipiac University’s School of Business and Medicine, called such cases “egregious” and “unethical.” However, she noted that there are currently no laws against it at the federal or state level in Connecticut.

“Brothers and sisters who have the same father or the same mother but different fathers can marry and have children without knowing it, causing unpredictable consequences. It is time we do something about this problem,” said Professor Mattie.

Pierson also noted that the consequences of the fertilization fraud were devastating. She revealed that she recently learned that her two half-siblings had unknowingly dated in high school and were intimate with each other.

Pierson met with Caldwell, who is now in his 80s and has been out of practice since 2004. He admitted to using his own sperm to inseminate patients without permission, and even asked her about his college grades and how many grandchildren he had. The US court has not yet announced a trial date for the case.

(Source: Vietnamnet)

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