"No consent. After . Where is Donald Cline? Jacoba Ballard discovered her mother's fertility doctor in Indianapolis used his own sperm during insemination. By the time the children of Clines former patients began to uncover the extent of his crimes in 2015, he was well into retirement, living in Indianapolis, Indiana. 'The Skinny Shot' on Hulu Is An Ozempic "Documentary" That Plays More Like A Commercial, Where Is Estonia Located? He did this without their consent or knowledge; Cline's patients were under the impression they were receiving sperm from donors. 1,222, This story has been shared 1,076 times. "[13], Ganote told DeLaney that Cline was lying to them. He was given a one-year suspended sentence and served no jail time, the Associated Press reports. He lives within just a few blocks of some of the children he fathered without their mothers consent. It starts with Jacoba. He was going to use medical students their sperm.. 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. The stories of some of these women and the (at least) 94 biological children of Cline are told in a new documentary, Our Father, which premiered on Netflix in May. In 2014, at 35, the Indiana natives wish came true when she took a 23andMe DNA test and discovered that she had at least seven half brothers and sisters living within a 25-mile radius of her. Our Fathers main focus is on highlighting the lack of legal recourse afforded to the siblings and their parents. Each time she saw a new connection appear on her profile, shed steel herself before reaching out to deliver the news. The doctor's actions were revealed by one of his children, Jacoba Ballard. The Our Father documentary describes an event involving Don Cline as a motorist running over a child, killing her. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. After reaching out to her newfound family members and researching the mystery of their shared relation, Ballard and her siblings soon discovered with horror what their parents trusted doctor had done. In 2017, he was brought to trial facing two counts of felony obstruction of justice, for lying during the investigation. All Rights reserved. Many of the donor-children live within a 25-mile radius of each other. Jacoba Ballard in Our Father. (An actor for Cline is used in other parts of the film to re-create scenes). When six of the half-siblings confronted Cline, according to the documentary, he admitted to using his own sperm and said their parents' records were destroyed. Sibling Jason Hyatt also speculated about Cline's motive: "Is it to further his career? [b][19] Ballard lobbied the state of Indiana for change. We educated Indianas legislators, got our bill passed, and not going to stop.. We confirm if Donald Cline is still alive, reveal how many children he has fathered, and discuss other doctors who have committed the same act. It sounds almost too twisted to be real, but unfortunately, Our Father is an investigative documentary, and Dr. Donald Cline is a real man. Netflix has served another gripping documentary, this time exploring the controversial case involving Dr. Donald Cline and the high number of children he fathered during his time as a fertility doctor. Meara is an associate editor on CNET's Culture team, where she covers movies, TV shows and viral online happenings. D uring 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. I only donated my own sample nine or 10 times," he said. Dr. Donald Cline's Wife . INDIANAPOLIS Netflix's new documentary "Our Father" tells the story of a Zionsville fertility doctor who secretly used his own sperm to inseminate dozens of patients.. Dr. Donald L. Cline pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 2017 and admitted that he inseminated patients using his semen without their knowledge in the 1970's and 1980's. 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The documentary follows her journey to find as many of her half-siblings as she can and bring Dr. Cline to justice. [10] Ballard played the audio of the voice mail. Hes got autoimmune disease, said Jason Hyatt, one of the disgraced doctors biological children. Kates coat was a Catherine Walker rewear; Diana wore her Moschino suit numerous times. So, were just now finding out that Julie is not yours, Kiesler recalled. There was no consent. No respect," she wrote. And that was it. 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. As a lawyer explains in the documentary, it would have been extremely hard to charge Cline with rape, both because Indiana didn't have a specific law considering what he did a sexual violation and because he was well-known in the community, as the preeminent fertility doctor in Indianapolis during his career. But theres eight of us, whats going on here?. In 1982, she had no clue that her infertility specialist then lauded as one of the best in the field had somehow discarded her husbands sperm sample and used his own to impregnate her. Cline's motion to dismiss was denied. He is prohibited from reinstatement by the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana. As one man states in the trailer, there was no legal. Meet Storm Reid. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. In the film, directed by Lucie Jourdan of Taken at Birth fame, Ballard and a handful of her siblings theorize that breeding an all-white brood in an effort to preserve the Caucasian race may have been Clines motivation for wrongfully impregnating hordes of his patients with his own sperm. ET An explosive documentary on Netflix takes a new look at the life and work of Dr. Donald Cline, an Indiana University graduate who opened his infamous fertility clinic in Indianapolis, Ind., in 1979. [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. When she isnt writing or checking Twitter, shes probably watching the latest K-drama or giving a concert performance in her car. Dr. Donald Cline Received a One-Year Probation Sentence a Few Years Ago By Leila Kozma May 12 2022, Published 12:42 p.m. Doctor Donald Cline's crimes were brought to light thanks to an investigation by FOX59's Angela Ganote. [20] On May 17, 2019, Indiana became the first state to designate fertility fraud as a Level 6 felony. Here's everything you need to know about the chilling true story that has the whole world shockedand what happened to Dr. Donald Cline. 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 Our Father ultimately succeeds in its mission of bringing the siblings story into the spotlightand presciently emphasizes the fraught framework by which it is surrounded. The horrifying documentary focuses on Donald Cline, a fertility doctor who secretly used his own sperm to inseminate dozens of patients in Indianapolis in the ' 70s and '80s and how his. 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. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. When I opened up Ancestry, I had over 3,000 hits, says one. 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. 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. There's no hiding.". Quinci LeGardye is a Contributing Culture Editor who covers TV, movies, Korean entertainment, books, and pop culture. With the growing popularity of at-home DNA test kits, an additional 44 fertility doctors nationwide have also been exposed for committing similar misdeeds. Our Father tells the story of a violation so apparently novel that until the siblings and parents affected by Clines crimes brought their case to court and lobbied for protections, there was no law prohibiting his actions. As unspooled in a new documentary, he had a dark secret: dozens of children fraudulently fathered through his fertility clinic . I live down the street over there, and my mom lives in town here.. Netflix's new true crime documentary "Our Father" will introduce the world to an . 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. She says the Indiana Attorney General's Office sent her emails, she looked up the people who replied and everyone copied on the emails, and through that, she found that "one of the people with the state" had a "Quiverfull" email address. Most were so grateful to have a child, they didnt think to question it. [27][32], Cline has two children with his wife, Audrey, in addition to 94 other children conceived by artificially inseminating women without their knowledge. Quiverfull is anultra-conservativeChristian movement mentioned in the film. Sibling Matt White suggests in the film that someone must have known that Cline was inseminating women with his own sperm. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 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. [13] Charges were filed against Cline. In 2018, the siblings lobbying, led by Matt White and his mother Liz White, contributed to the passing of Indianas fertility-fraud law. And That's A Good Thing", "Our Father review an undeniably gripping tale of a fertility doctor's shocking crimes", "Everything You Need to Know About 'Our Father': Inside the sinister true story of Donald Cline", "The Fertility Doctor's Secret: Donald Cline must have thought no one would ever know. Ballards mother, Debbie Pierce, sought Clines help with getting pregnant in 1979, after it was determined that her husband couldnt have children naturally. Jourdan disputed the claims that Cline is dead now. Despite his later admittance and the scale of his actions, nailing down a route to prosecution is difficult. 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. He also began obliquely threatening the siblings with retribution should they continue their effort to bring charges against him and take their story public. Is 'Yellowstone' On Tonight? 344, This story has been shared 331 times. Las Vegas-based fertility specialist Quincy Fortier also used his own sperm to inseminate unsuspecting women and may have fathered hundreds of children. Due to this fact, it preaches procreation and abstention from sterilization and contraception. The documentary states that Cline was married at the time of practising medicine. The more we destigmatize infertility, combined with technological advances, the less likely it is for a doctor to do this again today.". The Quiverfull motion is a Christian-based philosophy held by some {couples} who take into account massive households blessings from God. Unfortunately, yes. [5], In 2014 when Jacoba Ballard, a daughter of a former patient of Dr. Cline, reviewed the results of her at-home DNA test, she discovered a biological connection to eight previously unknown half-siblings. 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. We've received your submission. As Ballard and her newfound siblings realized theyve barely begun to untangle his dark web of deceit, their pursuit of justice lies at the heart of this profoundly unsettling story about an unimaginable breach of trust.. [21] S.E.A. Perhaps that wasnt saying much, considering that fertility doctors were still a fairly new phenomenon when Cline opened his specialty practice in 1979. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. As this doesn't really relate to Cline, I'm pretty confused (and I assume others will be, too) as to why the doc includes these details prominently at all. 436, This story has been shared 402 times. Unfortunately for White, Ballard and the rest of the clinicians descendants, sickness, they claim, runs through Clines blood. In the meantime, you can watch the trailer below. Then DNA testing came on to the scene, and sites like 23andMe and Ancestry-dot-com revealed the unthinkable: Cline had beenwithout his patients knowledge and certainly without their consentinseminating his patients with his own sperm. "Donald Cline unfortunately isn't the only fertility doctor who has committed this unspeakable violation and I want to hopefully prevent it from happening again. Our Father. 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. Many viewers finished the film wondering what happened to the doctor who violated his patients for over a decade (at least, that's the confirmed span thus far). If you can stomach another tale about a rogue fertility doctor, the 2020 film is streaming on HBO Max. He didnt give me a choice.. Jourdan told The Guardian that "he's active around his community. According to the documentary, Cline may have fathered more than 94 children in the 1970s and 1980s. The siblings acknowledge that without hearing the truth from Cline, they only have theories. Specifies the statute of limitations for civil fertility fraud. Shell be crowned alongside her husband King Charles at the Coronation. Dr. Donald Cline has been famous in the media as the fertility doctor who inseminated his sperm into several women without consent. He had his staff recite prayers together, advised patients to pray on their treatment choices, decorated his office with Christian sayings, and had an affinity for the verse Jeremiah 1:5 (Before I formed you in your mothers womb I knew you.), which is often featured in material extoling the Quiverfull lifestyle. The interesting documentary film is bound to raise many questions in the viewer's mind regarding Dr. Donald Cline's religious beliefs and the motives behind his heinous actions. Theyre worried that their children are getting old enough to date soon. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. All Rights Reserved. Another points out the consistency of their shared traits: blond hair and blue eyes, adding: Its almost like this perfect Aryan clan.. As a result, he fathered at least 50 children in the 70s and 80s. (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.) "Um, my wife and I, uh, after 57 years of marriage, um, we have had a great deal of problems over this. He also has a chest-to-waist and bicep ratio of 40-36-15. "[13], After a story aired on Fox59, Cline left a voicemail for Ballard contradicting what he had told investigators. Here are the facts the documentary leaves out from the story of Dr. Donald Cline and his donor children. 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. 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!' Three more are pending.[9]. Once upon a time, Dr. Donald Clinewho is exposed in the new Netflix documentary, Our Father, which began streaming todaywas considered to be one of the best fertility doctors in Indianapolis. Cline, a prominent member of his church, had several church elders testify on his behalf at his court date, and, Ballard says in the film, the judge seemed unusually sympathetic toward him. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, thenView saved stories. Dr. Donald Cline fathered at least 50 of his patients children. Indiana for change brought to trial facing two counts of felony obstruction of,. True story that has the whole world shockedand what happened to dr. Donald Cline & # x27 ; s doctor! Fertility clinic were receiving sperm from donors abstention from sterilization and contraception of children fraudulently fathered through his fertility.... 2017, he had told investigators discovered her mother & # x27 ; s actions were revealed by of! 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