A woman in Canada is suing the fertility doctor who artificially inseminated her mother after it was proved that he used his own sperm to impregnate her, say reports. Rebecca Dixon, 26, from Ottawa, and her family allege that DNA tests show that Dr. Norman Barwin is the father to at least two women, whose parents sought help conceiving at the Broadview Fertility Clinic in 1989.
A new lawsuit, filed on Tuesday 1 November claims that Barwin told plaintiffs Daniel and Davina Dixon he used Davids sperm during fertility treatments, but they now believe Barwin is the biological father of their daughter, Rebecca, who is also a plaintiff.
The Dixons say the case came to light after Rebecca was diagnosed with celiac disease, a hereditary condition that her family had no history of. A blood test revealed her dad was type AB, while her blood was type O-positive, meaning he could not be her biological father.
According to The Globe and Mail, Dixons dad took a paternity test to find out that she was not his daughter. They then met Kat Palmer, 25, who had been conceived at Barwins clinic about six months before Dixon.
According to the report Palmer had taken several DNA tests to find that her genes do not descend from Germany and Ireland, but Ashkenazi Jewish, the same as Barwins. The legal claim says the database later connected her genetically to a second cousin in New York who turned out to be a relative of Barwin.
It was a complete shock, Dixon told the Ottawa Citizen on Wednesday. Theres a sense of injustice, theres a sense of anger on behalf of my parents who do feel violated and betrayed.
Through DNA testing Palmer and Dixon discovered last week that they were half-sisters and that Barwin was their father, says the report. Dixon and her parents filed the lawsuit suit against him requesting that he provide a DNA sample so others to find out if they were fathered by him.
The lawsuit reads: [Barwins] reckless and wanton conduct, including the cavalier use of his own sperm in his insemination procedures, demonstrated a reprehensible disregard for the health, safety, and rights of the plaintiffs.
The Ottawa Citizen quoted Rebecca as saying: The love that we have is real and is not sort of diminished by this situation. I think we were all very concerned about would this change the dynamic and I think this showed it didnt change the dynamic.
Reports say that in 2013, Barwin was suspended from practice for two months when he admitted inseminating four women with the wrong sperm.
