Ex-Harvard Medical School professor used personal sperm to secretly impregnate affected person, lawsuit alleges

BOSTON — A former professor at Harvard Medical School and founding father of one of many nation’s largest fertility clinics is being accused of secretly impregnating a affected person in 1980 after promising the sperm would come from an nameless donor, in accordance with a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

Sarah Depoian, 73, mentioned she and her husband first went to Dr. Merle Berger, now-retired professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology, in 1979 to debate intrauterine insemination. Depoian mentioned Berger advised her the sperm would come from an nameless donor “who resembled her husband, who did not know her, and whom she did not know,” in accordance with the lawsuit filed within the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The synthetic insemination that Berger carried out resulted in a profitable being pregnant, and Depoian’s daughter, Carolyn Bester, was born in January 1981. Earlier this yr, Bester carried out a house DNA check and found Berger was her organic father, in accordance with the lawsuit.

A spokesperson for Harvard Medical School mentioned Berger was academically affiliated with the medical faculty, however his main place of employment was at numerous Harvard-affiliated hospitals, which the college doesn’t personal or function.

Adam Wolf, a lawyer representing Depoian, mentioned Berger clearly knew that what he was doing was mistaken.

“Some people call this horrific act medical rape, but regardless of what you call it, Dr. Berger’s heinous and intentional misconduct is unethical, unacceptable and unlawful,” Wolf advised reporters Wednesday.

Ian Pinta, a lawyer representing Berger, described him as a pioneer within the medical fertility area who in 50 years of follow helped 1000’s of households fulfill their goals of getting a toddler.

“The allegations concern events from over 40 years ago, in the early days of artificial insemination,” Pinta mentioned in a written assertion. “The allegations, which have changed repeatedly in the six months since the plaintiff’s attorney first contacted Dr. Berger, have no legal or factual merit, and will be disproven in court.”

A spokesperson for Boston IVF Fertility Clinic, which Berger helped discovered, mentioned the state of affairs cited within the lawsuit occurred earlier than Berger’s employment on the clinic and earlier than the corporate even existed.

“The field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility is much different than it was decades ago, and the safety measures and safeguards currently in place would make such allegations virtually impossible nowadays,” the corporate mentioned in a written assertion.

In the lawsuit, Depoian is partially searching for “damages in an amount sufficient to compensate her for her injuries.”

“We fully trusted Dr. Berger. He was a medical professional. It’s hard to imagine not trusting your own doctor,” mentioned Depoian, who lives in Maine. “We never dreamt he would abuse his position of trust and perpetrate this extreme violation. I am struggling to process it.”

Bester, 42, mentioned she acquired DNA outcomes from Ancestry.com and 23andMe as she explored her historical past earlier this yr.

The outcomes didn’t present a direct match to Berger however recognized a granddaughter and second cousin of his. Bester mentioned she spoke to one of many family members and began to piece collectively the puzzle.

“To say I was shocked when I figured this out would be an extreme understatement. It feels like reality has shifted,” mentioned Bester, who lives in New Jersey. “My mom put her trust in Dr. Berger as a medical professional during one of the most vulnerable times in her life. He had all the power and she had none.”

Bester mentioned she advised her mom, who then contacted Berger via a lawyer. The lawyer mentioned Berger didn’t deny that Depoian had consented solely to an insemination with the sperm of a donor who didn’t know her and whom she didn’t know, Bester mentioned.

There have been different situations of fertility medical doctors being accused of utilizing their very own sperm to impregnate a affected person.

In 2017, a retired Indianapolis fertility physician averted jail time for mendacity about utilizing his personal sperm to impregnate as many as dozens of girls after telling them the donors have been nameless. Dr. Donald Cline was given a one-year suspended sentence after pleading responsible to 2 counts of obstruction of justice. Indiana legislation didn’t particularly prohibit fertility medical doctors from utilizing their very own sperm.

In 2022, a federal courtroom jury in Vermont awarded a girl $5.25 million from a health care provider who used his personal sperm to impregnate her throughout a synthetic insemination process in 1977. The jury awarded plaintiff Cheryl Rousseau $250,000 in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages from Dr. John Coates III.