Ohio Senate votes to ban fertility fraud after woman says she has over 90 half-siblings

Laura A. Bischoff, The Columbus Dispatch
·2 min read
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Ohio state senators vote to ban reproduction health care providers using their own genetic material with their patients without consent.
Ohio state senators vote to ban reproduction health care providers using their own genetic material with their patients without consent.

Jacoba Ballard took a deep breath, wiped away tears and told Ohio lawmakers her personal story, which was documented in the 2022 Netflix film "Our Father."

The Indiana doctor who treated Ballard's parents for fertility issues secretly used his own sperm to impregnate her mother and dozens of other patients.

"Seven years ago, I took a DNA test thinking I'd find one or two siblings and possibly other biological family members," said Ballard, who knew from childhood that she was conceived with donor sperm. "After taking the DNA test, I found out I have eight half siblings. The number has now grown to over 90 with no information as to how many half siblings I truly have."

"Seven years ago, I took a DNA test thinking I'd find one or two siblings and possibly other biological family members," said Jacoba Ballard, who spoke to Ohio lawmakers about fertility fraud. She was the subject of the Netflix documentary 'Our Father.'
"Seven years ago, I took a DNA test thinking I'd find one or two siblings and possibly other biological family members," said Jacoba Ballard, who spoke to Ohio lawmakers about fertility fraud. She was the subject of the Netflix documentary 'Our Father.'

The popularity of DNA tests and ancestry websites helped Ballard find her half siblings and expose Dr. Donald Cline's behavior. But she was shocked to find state laws don't explicitly prohibit fertility fraud.

State senators agreed to tuck into a 950-page criminal justice bill a ban on reproduction health care providers using their own genetic material with their patients without consent. The bill passed the Ohio Senate Wednesday and moves to the House for consideration.

The language is similar to a law adopted in Indiana following the Cline case, which was the subject of the Netflix documentary.

Cline isn't the only doctor who used his sperm with fertility patients without consent.

Carrie Lauterbach of Oakwood near Dayton told state senators that she is the product of fertility fraud. A Cincinnati doctor told her parents that the anonymous sperm donor was a medical student at a nearby university who closely resembled Lauterbach's father.

Lauterbach took a DNA test and discovered she has six half siblings − and later determined they are all related to the Cincinnati fertility doctor, she said.

"The fact that a medical professional would take advantage of a vulnerable family inthis way is shocking," Lauterbach said.

State Sen. Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, said he wasn't aware of the problem or that it wasn't specifically illegal until watching the Netflix documentary.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio may ban doctors from using own sperm with patients without consent