Current:Home > Contact-usAn Idaho woman sues her fertility doctor, says he used his own sperm to impregnate her 34 years ago-InfoLens
An Idaho woman sues her fertility doctor, says he used his own sperm to impregnate her 34 years ago
View Date:2025-01-09 17:21:30
SEATTLE (AP) — An Idaho woman is suing her one-time fertility doctor, saying he secretly used his own sperm to inseminate her 34 years ago — the latest in a string of such cases brought as at-home DNA sampling enables people to learn more about their ancestry.
Sharon Hayes, 67, of Hauser, Idaho, said in the lawsuit that she sought fertility care from Dr. David R. Claypool, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Spokane, Washington, in 1989 after she and her then-husband had been unable to conceive.
She wanted an anonymous donor, and, according to the complaint filed Wednesday in Spokane County Superior Court, Claypool informed her the donor would be selected based on traits she selected, such as hair and eye color, and that the donor would be screened for health or genetic issues. He charged $100 cash for each of several treatments, saying the money was for the college or medical students who were donating the sperm, the lawsuit said.
But last year, her 33-year-old daughter, Brianna Hayes, learned who her biological father was after submitting her DNA to the genetic testing and ancestry website 23andMe, Brianna Hayes told The Associated Press on Thursday.
“It’s been an identity crisis, for sure,” she said. “This was hidden from me my whole life. I felt traumatized for my mom, and the fact that I’m a product of his actions is off-putting.”
Hayes also learned something else: She had at least 16 other half-siblings in the area, she said. It was not immediately clear if any other women are pursuing legal claims against Claypool.
The AP was unable to reach Claypool through phone numbers listed for him. His lawyer, Drew Dalton, declined to comment in response to an emailed request, saying he had not had a chance to speak with his client.
Dalton told The Seattle Times, which first reported about the lawsuit Thursday, the matter had been in mediation. But the newspaper reported that Claypool claimed he had no knowledge of the allegations and didn’t know Sharon Hayes. He stopped practicing in 2005, he said.
“I know people are very happy,” Claypool said of his past patients. “But this is the first I’ve heard of anything in 40 years.”
A number of cases of “fertility fraud” have arisen as online DNA services have proliferated. Last year, a New York Times story said more than 50 U.S. fertility doctors had been accused of fraud related to donated sperm, and a Netflix documentary focused on an Indiana fertility specialist who secretly fathered at least 94 children while inseminating patients.
A Colorado jury awarded nearly $9 million to three families who accused a fertility doctor of using his own sperm to inseminate mothers who requested anonymous donors.
The claims in Sharon Hayes’ lawsuit include fraud, failure to obtain consent in violation of state medical malpractice law, and violation of state consumer protection law for “his scheme to charge cash for his own sperm, while he was representing it was a donor’s sperm,” said RJ Ermola, an attorney for Hayes.
Brianna Hayes said she has enjoyed getting to know her half-siblings, but she has never met Claypool. She initially sought genetic information to see if it would help explain health issues, including a childhood bout with leukemia — “conditions that do not run on my mom’s side of the family.”
She said her mother has struggled with the revelation: “She’s a puddle this morning,” she said. “She feels immense guilt for putting me in this situation. I told her, ‘This wasn’t you at all — you went through all the appropriate channels to do what you needed to do. You were just being a mom, wanting to be a loving mother.’”
veryGood! (675)
Related
- Kentucky gets early signature win at Champions Classic against Duke | Opinion
- You practice good hygiene. So why do you still smell bad?
- 5 NFL QBs under most pressure entering 2024 season: Does Rodgers or Watson top the list?
- Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney won't take live calls on weekly radio show
- Denzel Washington Will Star in Black Panther 3 Before Retirement
- Who Is Kick Kennedy? Everything to Know About the Actress Linked to Ben Affleck
- New Hampshire resident dies after testing positive for mosquito-borne encephalitis virus
- Score the Iconic Spanx Faux Leather Leggings for Just $33 & Flash Deals Up to 70% Off, Starting at $9!
- Congress heard more testimony about UFOs: Here are the biggest revelations
- 23 more Red Lobster restaurants close: See the full list of 129 shuttered locations
Ranking
- Princess Kate makes rare public appearance after completing cancer chemo
- Yearly tech checkup: How to review your credit report, medical data and car recalls
- How a Technology Similar to Fracking Can Store Renewable Energy Underground Without Lithium Batteries
- It’s official, the census says: Gay male couples like San Francisco. Lesbians like the Berkshires
- Police capture Tennessee murder suspect accused of faking his own death on scenic highway
- Future of sports streaming market, consumer options under further scrutiny after Venu Sports ruling
- Diddy seeks to have producer’s lawsuit tossed, says it’s full of ‘blatant falsehoods’
- 'The tropics are broken:' So where are all the Atlantic hurricanes?
Recommendation
-
Shocked South Carolina woman walks into bathroom only to find python behind toilet
-
Patients suffer when Indian Health Service doesn’t pay for outside care
-
Danny Jansen makes MLB history by appearing in same game for both teams
-
Adam Sandler's latest Netflix special is half dumb, half sweet: Review
-
1 monkey captured, 42 monkeys still on the loose after escaping research facility in SC
-
Green Bay Packers trade for Malik Willis, a backup QB with the Tennessee Titans
-
How many points did Caitlin Clark score today? Rookie overcomes injury scare in victory
-
Kentucky dispute headed to court over access to database that tracks handling of abuse cases