Doctor sued for secretly impregnating patient with his own sperm
What's the story
In a bizarre incident, a 36-year-old American woman has sued the former fertility doctor of her parents for secretly using his own sperm to conceive her.
The woman, Kelli Rowlette, discovered the truth about her biological father after a DNA sample she sent to genealogy website Ancestry.com didn't match her to her mother's ex-husband, who she grew up believing was her father.
Here's more.
Revelations
Rowlette never knew her parents had trouble conceiving her
Rowlette initially thought the test result was flawed. However, when she discovered her paternal match was the doctor who delivered her, she confronted her now-divorced parents.
According to the BBC, Rowlette never knew that her parents consulted Gerald Mortimer, an obstetrician gynaecologist in Idaho, for her birth.
Her lawsuit accuses the now-retired Mortimer of fraud, medical negligence, emotional distress, battery and breach of contract.
Backstory
Parents wanted the sperm donor to be a university student
Because of her father Howard Fowler's low sperm count and her mother Sally Ashby's uterine complications, Rowlette's parents decided to undergo artificial insemination in early 1980s.
They agreed to Ashby being inseminated with Fowler's sperm and that of a donor, who they wanted to be a current university student taller than 6ft with brown hair and blue eyes.
Breach of trust
Mortimer cried when Rowlette's family moved to Washington from Idaho
However, Mortimer allegedly secretly inseminated Ashby with his own semen for about three months.
He even cared for Rowlette after her birth and cried when she moved to Washington from Idaho with her parents.
Rowlette has now charged Mortimer for "fraudulently and knowingly concealing his use of his own genetic material in the procedure" and hiding the truth from her parents.
In public interest
Rowlette's family seeks justice, requests privacy
Meanwhile, Rowlette's attorney told local reporters that the family decided to share their story so that responsible parties be held "accountable for a grievous and damaging violation of trust."
"While the family understands the public's interest in their story, they ask that their privacy be respected as they focus on the difficult process of healing from this trauma," he added.