Gynaecologist ‘fathers 16 youngsters by artificially inseminating with out consent’
A former gynaecologist has admitted to secretly fathering at least 16 children by using his own sperm to inseminate patients without their consent, putting his children’s health at risk
The doctor used his own sperm to inseminate women (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A former gynaecologist has reportedly fathered at least 16 children by using his own sperm to artificially inseminate patients. The doctor has since admitted to the disturbing crimes, with an investigation revealing that he had put his kids’ health at great risk.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the doctor used his own sperm to inseminate women when the intended donor failed to show up without the recipients’ knowledge, he admitted to investigators.
He reportedly used to work in what is now known as Rijnstate Hospital in Arnhem, the Netherlands. The investigation went on to reveal that the specialist carries a hereditary disease, though the nature of this illness has not been made public.
“It is not known why he did this, or how many donor children there are,” the medical centre stressed in its statement. The hospital has asked anyone who suspects they may be the biological child of the gynaecologist to provide their DNA to Fiom, a Dutch organisation specialising in paternity issues.
Hans Schoo, director of the hospital, described the doctor’s conduct as “unacceptable, even by the standards of the time”, Sic Noticias reported. He also noted that the ethical guidelines in place already stipulated that a doctor “should not interfere in a patient’s private life beyond what is strictly necessary”.
Schoo added: “Every child has the right to know their parents. Furthermore, all patients should be able to trust that a doctor will honour what has been agreed.
“In this situation, much went wrong in this respect. We deeply regret what happened.”
This is not an isolated case in the Dutch healthcare system. Moreover, numerous incidents have reportedly come to light in recent years involving gynaecologists and fertility clinic specialists using their own sperm without authorisation in women seeking to become pregnant.
Gynaecologist Jan Karbaat, who died in 2017, fathered dozens of children using the same procedure at clinics in Rotterdam and Barendrecht, in what is considered one of the most serious fertility scandals in the Netherlands.
The Dutch Association of Gynaecologists confirmed, following a public television investigation, that practices at fertility clinics in the country since 2004 have resulted in at least 85 donors far exceeding the recommended limits.
The directive setting a maximum of 12 families per donor only became legally binding in 2018, and its enforcement was consistently lacking in the past.
Until the 1990s, the Netherlands had no specific legal regulation on assisted reproduction, a legal loophole that allowed practices which today would be considered criminal in many European countries.
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