Couples pursuing fertility treatments and other remedies for difficulty in conceiving were once relegated to blind faith that the children they were having were indeed theirs after science had played its part. Present day, however, a trip to a drugstore, a swab of a cheek, and a few days’ wait can unlock someone’s entire genetic history. And some are learning a horrifying truth.
A number of fertility fraud lawsuits have recently been filed alleging everything from lost embryos and the birth of strangers’ babies to a New Jersey case alleging that the fertility doctor in question was actually the birthed daughter’s father.
The New Jersey case was filed in federal court after a 23andMe kit revealed that Martin Greenberg, MD used his own sperm when he conducted the intrauterine insemination procedure that gave Bianca Voss a daughter nearly 40 years ago. Attorneys for Voss said that thousands of fertility fraud cases are being discovered throughout the country and that a significant number of them involve circumstances similar to Voss’. “Some unscrupulous fertility doctors thought that they could get away with it without being caught,” they said in a statement when discussing the importance of DNA testing’s role in the discoveries. “That is why most child victims who discover fertility fraud are 30 years of age or older today.”
Greenberg denies the allegations as well as having ever treated Ms. Voss. Lawyers for the now retired doctor stated that they “look forward to addressing the Plaintiff’s allegations within the confines of the Civil Lawsuit that was filed.” One would think that a fertility doctor and expert on human reproduction would understand that answers to those allegations are simply one paternity test away…or a trip to a local drugstore.
