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Artificial insemination is a large market worldwide, but a few decades ago there was clearly still a lot of unregulated activity in this area. This is evident from the traumatic story of a 39-year-old social worker from the American state of Connecticut. Not only is her biological father a fertility doctor himself, the young woman also unknowingly slept with her half-brother, CNN reports.
Victoria H.* is ill and is surprised that her parents do not have similar symptoms. A DNA test later reveals the most extreme insemination fraud story yet in the United States. Her father is not her biological father at all. The fertility doctor Burton C.*, who had her mother artificially inseminated, used his own sperm. Instead of learning more about herself, she discovers about 22 half-siblings.
The social worker made the even worse discovery shortly afterwards. After investigating, Victoria H. discovers that she unknowingly had a romantic relationship with one of her half-siblings during high school. As she tells CNN, she could have easily married her high school sweetheart. “That traumatized me.”
Stricter laws on fertility fraud
Jody Madeira, a law professor at Indiana University and an expert on fertility fraud, emphasizes to CNN that Victoria H’s case is one of the most extreme. “This was the first time we had a confirmed case of someone actually having a relationship and being intimate with someone who was their half-sister or half-sister.” Most US states have no laws against insemination fraud. Many victims would only receive compensation. The accused doctors are rarely confronted with the consequences of their behavior, CNN writes. Currently, more than thirty American doctors are accused of using their own sperm on patients.
According to the Federal Office of Public Health, approximately 3,000 couples undergo artificial insemination in Switzerland every year. Reproductive medicine is regulated at both constitutional and legal levels. This determines, among other things, who has access to reproductive interventions, under what conditions they may be performed and which interventions are actually permitted.
*Name known
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
