A woman claims a retired Boston fertility doctor secretly used his own sperm to impregnate her more than 40 years ago, a lawsuit alleges.
Sarah Depoian, 73, said she visited Dr Merle Berger, a former professor at Harvard Medical School and founder of Boston IVF, and was promised the sperm used in her fertility clinic would come from an anonymous donor.
Depoian’s daughter, Carolyn Bester, was born in 1981 after successful artificial insemination.
Earlier this year, Bester took a DNA test at home and learned Berger was her biological father, according to a lawsuit filed in the US District Court for Massachusetts.
Adam Wolf, an attorney representing Depoian, said Berger’s alleged misconduct was intentional and caused significant harm.
“Some call this horrific act medical rape, but no matter what you call it, Dr. Berger’s heinous and willful misconduct was unethical, unacceptable and illegal,” Wolf told reporters Wednesday.
Sarah Depoian and her daughter Carolyn Bester. AP
Berger has denied the allegations. His lawyer, Ian Pinta, said Berger was a pioneer in the field of medical fertility whose 50-year practice has helped thousands of families fulfill their dreams of having children. He retired in 2020.
“The allegations involve events over 40 years ago, in the early days of insemination,” said Pinta in a written statement. “The allegations, which have changed repeatedly in the six months since plaintiff’s attorneys first contacted Dr. Berger, have no legal or factual merit, and will be refuted in court.”
Depoian is seeking “damages in an amount sufficient to compensate for his injuries,” according to the lawsuit.
Sarah Depoian believes Dr. Berger used his own sperm to inseminate her, leading to the birth of her daughter Carolyn Bester AP
“We fully trust Dr. Berger. He is a medical professional. It’s hard to imagine not trusting your own doctor,” said Depoian, who lives in Maine. “We never dreamed that he would abuse his position of trust and commit this extreme violation. I’m struggling to process it.”
Bester, now 42, said she received DNA results from Ancestry.com and 23andMe when she was exploring her history earlier this year.
The results did not definitively reveal that Berger was her biological father, they identified her granddaughter and her second cousin. Bester said he talked to one of the brothers and started connecting the dots.
“To say I was shocked when I thought this would be an extreme statement. It feels like reality has changed,” said Bester, who lives in New Jersey. “My mother put her trust in Dr. Berger as a medical professional during one of her most vulnerable times. in his life. He has all the power and he has no power.
Sarah Depoian, 73, filed the suit after her daughter took a DNA test. AP
Bester told WCVB she wants her mother to pursue the case in part because she is now a mother herself.
A Harvard Medical School spokeswoman told the Associated Press Berger is academically affiliated with the medical school, but his primary place of employment is at various Harvard-affiliated hospitals not operated by the university.
The retired professor taught obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology.
By Postal Wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
