In a voiceover near the end, "Donald" says, "Was there a sexual connotation to it? But in 2014, within several blocks of Cline's clinic, Jacoba Ballard, a local resident, got her DNA test results back from genealogy company 23andme. She learned she had at least seven half siblings and that their mothers' fertility doctor, Donald Cline, had been artificially inseminating his patients with his own sperm. The film explores the real-life story of the disgraced doctor, who . We were told there were no laws to charge Cline or others that would engage in similar deplorable actions and the only thing to do would be to create a law. 'Did you not consider we all live in a relatively close area?' Netflix's latest true-crime documentary, "Our Father," centers on the fraudulent fertility practice of its subject, Dr. Donald Cline.The shocking story is enough to send a chill down any viewer's spine. Dr. Donald Cline was once a respected fertility doctor from Indianapolis, Indiana. 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. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Although devastating, heartbreaking, and unnerving, Our Father . The fertility specialist, who practiced in his Indianapolis clinic from 1979 to 2009, inseminated his patients with his own sperm without their knowledge or explicit consent. However, per audio of a recorded police interview with Cline in the doc, he claimed, All of the inseminations that I did with my sample, and again it was sparingly, had a healthy baby.. 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His former church responded to the Netflix documentary in an interview with Fox59, claiming that Cline had admitted to them that he had been unethical, but that they'd had no idea the breadth of his deceit. Jacoba Ballard discovered her mother's fertility doctor in Indianapolis used his own sperm during insemination. And while Clines sins may have gone legally unpunished thus far, Ballard refuses to rest until justice is served. The Our Father documentary describes an event involving Don Cline as a motorist running over a child, killing her. So, were just now finding out that Julie is not yours, Kiesler recalled. Effect on Cline's patients and their children. Jennifer Lawrence Just Embraced the Controversial Y2K Drop-Waist Trend, Christina Applegates Red-Carpet Appearance Came With a Powerful Message, 'Hogwarts Legacy' Seemingly Introduces Trans Character Amid J.K. Rowling Controversy. 1,222, This story has been shared 1,076 times. Im a fighter, Ballard says in the doc. In 2017, after it was proven that Cline fathered Ballard, the doctor pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice for previously lying to officials about artificially inseminating patients with his own specimen. 215 became effective July 1, 2019. An actor portrays Cline in Netflix's new true crime doc. Here are the facts the documentary leaves out from the story of Dr. Donald Cline and his donor children. He's going to grandchildren's swim meets and things like that. Is this some sort of sexual thing? There was no consent. He also often repeated a Biblical phrase from Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in your mothers womb, I knew you." It reads: Establishes a cause of action for civil fertility fraud and provides that a prevailing plaintiff may be awarded: (1) compensatory and punitive damages; or (2) liquidated damages of $10,000. No respect," she wrote. 384, This story has been shared 344 times. The lug nuts disappeared off Ballards car one day, she shares in the film. As a result, he fathered at least 50 children in the 70s and 80s. Netflix's bombshell new documentary, Our Father, which premiered on May 11, 2022, reveals chilling details about a once renowned fertility doctor, Donald Cline, from Indianapolis. . "It's almost like we're this perfect Aryan clan," she says. [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. "[13], After a story aired on Fox59, Cline left a voicemail for Ballard contradicting what he had told investigators. Designed to make shopping easier. All Rights Reserved. But, thanks to a sympathetic judge and a lack of criminal history, he ended up not serving any jail time and simply paying a $500 fine. We want to hear it. Dr. Donald Cline As shown in the " Our Father " documentary released in May, Cline was proven to have secretly used his sperm to impregnate dozens of patients at his fertility clinic . Despite the victims' and children's ongoing calls for justice, Cline was never charged with rape. Unfortunately, yes. Urges the legislative council to assign the topic of fertility laws, including gestational surrogacy, to an appropriate study committee. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. Ballard, who initially found seven DNA matches at first, launched an investigation into Cline's actions. 'The Skinny Shot' on Hulu Is An Ozempic "Documentary" That Plays More Like A Commercial, Where Is Estonia Located? She also knew Cline was her mother's fertility doctor. Ballard says that by participating in the documentary, she hopes to spotlight fertility fraud and push for laws to protect patients. Three more are pending.[9]. 1,794, This story has been shared 1,672 times. 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. In Our Father, Ballard draws a link between Cline and Quiverfull, but it's not a strong one. I dont deny that it was a sexual violation, [but] Dr. Cline's case did not go to trial, and in December 2017, he pleaded guilty. As for why he did what he did, no one knows for sure. Lucie Jourdan makes her directorial documentary debut with the film, which comes from Netflix and Blumhouse Pictures. Cline's own auto-immune condition, rheumatoid arthritis, would have excluded him as an eligible sperm donor at his own clinic.[26]. He lives within just a few blocks of some of the children he fathered without their mothers consent. Cline, now in his 80s, served no time for his actions. I only donated my own sample nine or 10 times," he said. In 2018, the siblings lobbying, led by Matt White and his mother Liz White, contributed to the passing of Indianas fertility-fraud law. One of his former patients interviewed for the Atlantic story, Liz White, told the magazine the former doctor lives down the street over there. Cline opened a fertility clinic in Indiana in 1979 and secretly used his own sperm to impregnate women who visited him for artificial insemination, claiming the donations were from medical residents. Cline's current whereabouts, as far as we can tell, are unknown. More than 50 U.S. fertility doctors are accused of fraud related to sperm donation. Our Father suggests Cline may have been motivated by ideology born of his affiliation with an extremist Christian sect called Quiverfull, which encourages followers to reproduce as prolifically as possible to meet Gods mandate to be fruitful and multiply, and install adherents in positions of power. 174, P.L. Dr. Donald Cline fathered at least 50 of his patients children. After interning at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital, he served two years in the Air Force and 12 years as inactive reserve. They all shared a father, fertility doctor Donald Cline. Unfortunately, Cline is one of several doctors who have been discovered to use their own sperm in multiple patients over the past few years. Gonna lose my wife. I think it was some sick experiment for him, one sibling ponders in the trailer. 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Donald Lee Cline (born December 10, 1938) is a convicted felon and an American former medical doctor of obstetrics and gynaecology. Our Father tells the jaw-dropping true story of Don Cline, a fertility doctor in Indiana who inseminated over 90 patients with his own sperm, without their consent. 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 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. Cline opened his practice in 1979 and is believed to have inseminated women with his own sperm until 1986. It's unclear if Cline is actually the one speaking in the recording. Many of Cline's biological "children" including Jacoba Ballard reached out to their half-siblings and put pressure on the local media and authorities for accountability in the case. If you can stomach another tale about a rogue fertility doctor, the 2020 film is streaming on HBO Max. (Still, I watched intently during its entire 97-minute run time.). Phil in December 2019 that she was finally able to accept the truth. A test confirmed they were half-sisters, and revealed yet more matches. [15] They then filed a multi-count complaint in Marion Superior Court. As per the documentary, Cline retired from medicine in 2009, and . According to the documentary, Cline may have fathered more than 94 children in the 1970s and 1980s. Through further investigation, it is revealed that they and many more are all connected at the root of their family tree by Dr. Cline. It's implied in the doc that Cline collected his own sperm just before he inseminated patients. Our Fathers main focus is on highlighting the lack of legal recourse afforded to the siblings and their parents. Kates coat was a Catherine Walker rewear; Diana wore her Moschino suit numerous times. New York, When Will 'Jesus Revolution' Movie Be Streaming? Despite. There is a high presence of auto-immune disorders among Cline's donor-fathered children. Quiverfull is anultra-conservativeChristian movement mentioned in the film. [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. Where is Donald Cline? He is prohibited from reinstatement by the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana. Finding out that I had siblings was amazing, Ballard admitted. He was going to use medical students their sperm.. After registering on an online forum for adoptees and donor-conceived children, she found another woman whose mother had been treated by Cline, and she also knew another woman. Because that's what we all deserve.". 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. The gynaecologist weighs about 87 kgs, roughly 191lbs. After confirming that she and Harmon were half sisters, the pair connected with their half brother Matt White through the online biology database. He was given a one-year suspended sentence and served no jail time, the Associated Press reports. The film emphasizes how Clines faith, which developed after he accidentally struck and killed a young girl with his car, pervaded his practice as a doctor. [10] During her investigation, Ganote learned that Cline had lied to the attorney general's office in their investigation. [a] Her genetic genealogy research ultimately revealed Cline, her mother's fertility doctor, as her biological father. Our Father includes interviews with eight of the 94 siblings. Jacoba Ballard, Deborah Pierce v. Anonymous Health Care Provider, John Doe, M.D. But years later, owing to Ballards initial 23andMe findings, it became clear that the rule had been broken. No one in the office? Jacoba Ballard in Our Father. Reproductive endocrinologist & infertility specialist, Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital, "Donald Lee Cline in the Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944", "Donald Cline: The Fertility Doctor Accused of Fraud: Donald Cline secretly used his own sperm to impregnate fertility patients more than 50 times, but committed no crime with the lewd betrayals. , which comes from Netflix and Blumhouse Pictures was amazing, Ballard refuses to rest until justice is.! 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