Fertility Doctor Used His Own Sperm To Impregnate 50 Women

Fertility Doctor Used His Own Sperm To Impregnate 50 Women

The retired fertility doctor from Indianapolis surrendered his medical license on Thursday, after it was discovered that he used his own sperm to impregnate as much as 50 women.

After Dr. Donald Cline’s attorney surrendered his expired license to the Indiana Medical Licensing Board, it was voted by the panel that the 79-year-old Cline will not be able to apply for a license in Indiana ever again.

Laura Iosue, Indiana’s supervising deputy attorney general, asked the 7 members of the board before the vote to consider Cline’s actions.

“It’s particularly egregious. The important thing is that Dr. Cline doesn’t practice anymore,” – she said.

Cline retired from practice in 2009, and was given a one-year suspended sentence back in December last year after pleading guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice. He was using his own sperm to impregnate as much as 50 women after he was telling them that the donors were anonymous.

As Indiana’s law doesn’t specifically prohibit fertility doctors from using their own sperm, no other charges were filed against him.
After lying to investigators, Cline was charged and he had faced up to three years in prison on each count. What stemmed the charges were two confirmed cases of paternity, however, children of women treated by him have said that DNA tests show he is probably the biological father of more than 20 of them.

Fertility Doctor Used His Own Sperm To Impregnate 50 Women

The doctor apologized for the pain his actions have caused, but he didn’t specify how many times he used his own sperm exactly. Court documents, however, state that he told Jacoba Ballard, one of his biological daughters, that he had been doing it in the 1970s and 1980s and he had done it about 50 times.

Ballard said at Thursday’s hearing that Cline’s actions have affected her in every possible way.

“He’s portrayed as this man that’s remorseful,” – she added.

Ten people who believe that Cline is their biological father attended Thursday’s hearing with their mothers.

What many of Cline’s former patients and their children are asking is for Indiana lawmakers to pass a measure that would deem a fertility doctor’s use of his own sperm as a crime.
Matt White, the son of one of Cline’s victims, said that the surrender of Cline’s already expired license is “a slap on the wrist”. However, he added that he appreciated the board barring Cline from ever seeking to seek reinstatement of his license, and he said that it’s a small victory.