The documentary follows Dr. Donald Cline, a fertility clinician who fathered upwards of 50 children (likely closer to 90) without his patients’ consent or knowledge. The Netflix synopsis is appropriately chilling: “Jacoba Ballard was an only child, conceived via donor sperm, who always dreamed of having a brother or sister. An at-home DNA test led her to the discovery of not one but seven half-siblings—a number that defied best practices in fertility medicine. As the group set out to learn more about their curious family tree, they soon discovered the sickening truth: Their parents’ fertility doctor had been inseminating his patients with his own sperm—without their knowledge or consent. As Ballard and her newfound siblings realized they’ve barely begun to untangle his dark web of deceit, their pursuit of justice lies at the heart of this profoundly unsettling story about an unimaginable breach of trust.” Find out how to watch Our Father, as well as the Our Father release date and what happened to Dr. Donald Cline.
Is Our Father on Netflix a true story?
Our Father is a true story, and the Netflix film is a documentary. Some reenactments in the film may have been dramatized, but the chilling story at its core of Dr. Donald Cline inseminating patients using his own sperm without their knowledge or consent (especially egregious in cases where patients believed Cline used their husbands’ sperm samples). At the time of Cline’s insidious inseminations, DNA testing wasn’t widely available and the science and technology behind modern-day fertility medicine were much more scarce and less advanced. As such, it was quite difficult to keep effective sperm stored safely (leading most clinics to use sperm samples from medical students and residents) and difficult to prove whose sperm ultimately was used to father patients’ children.
Where can I watch Our Father?
Our Father will stream on Netflix starting on May 11, 2022.
When is the Our Father release date?
Our Father premieres on Netflix on May 11, 2022.
Who is Our Father based on?
Our Father is based on Dr. Donald Cline. Cline opened a fertility clinic in Indiana in 1979, and throughout the next two decades, he used his sperm on female patients instead of the donor sperm that the patients requested. Cline didn’t reveal this to his patients, who believed they were being impregnated by the donors of their choice or with sperm samples from medical residents.
How many kids did Donald Cline father?
Thanks to modern-day DNA testing (think 23 And Me, Ancestry.com and the like) and social media, at least 50 people so far have realized they were half-siblings and that Cline was their father. According to an investigative report from Angela Ganote at Fox 59 Indianapolis (who appears in the documentary), the total number of children Cline fathered is likely close to 90.
Who was the doctor that impregnated his patients?
Dr. Donald Cline is a fertility doctor who used his own sperm instead of sperm from requested donors on numerous patients of his Indiana clinic through the 1970s and 1980s without his patients’ knowledge or consent. Tragically, however, he wasn’t the only one to do so. There have been cases similar to Cline’s in states including Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Vermont and Virginia.
What happened to Donald Cline?
Cline said he lies to state investigators about fathering the children in the 1970s and 1980s, saying he never used his own sperm samples. He later admitted to using his own sperm only when other donors weren’t available. He first said he only used his own sperm samples three times, but DNA testing has proved that he did it at least 90 times. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and didn’t get any jail time for his offenses due to his suspended sentence. A year later, Cline surrendered his Indiana medical license and is prohibited from applying for one in the state ever again—but that barely impacted him, because he retired nine years prior. He was also sentenced to probation and a $500 fine. A law has since passed in Indiana prohibiting fertility fraud that allows for civil action in cases like Cline and increases the penalty for fertility deception, according to Fox 59. Currently, only seven states have laws prohibiting fertility fraud, though hopefully Cline’s case will bring more forward. Next, find out where Sarma Melngailis of Bad Vegan is now.
