NewStats: 3,265,435 , 8,186,734 topics. Date: Saturday, 14 June 2025 at 11:01 PM 2s1o8

Woman accuses Boston fertility doctor of secretly inseminating her with his own sperm in lawsuit spurred by DNA kit discovery

More than 40 years after a couple sought the help of a Boston, Massachusetts, fertility specialist, their daughter discovered through a purchased DNA kit that the doctor is her biological father, according to a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts.

The suit alleges Dr. Merle Berger secretly used his own sperm to inseminate the mother, Sarah Depoian, in 1980.

“This is an extreme violation,” Depoian said in a statement released by her attorney, Adam Wolf. “I am still struggling to process it. I trusted Dr. Berger fully. We thought he would act responsibly and ethically. I will never fully recover from his violation of me.”

At the time, Depoian was told by Dr. Berger — one of the founders of Boston IVF and a former Harvard Medical School professor — that the sperm used in the insemination would be from a medical resident “who resembled her husband” and “whom she did not know,” according to the complaint.

But instead, Dr. Berger used his own sperm to inseminate Depoian, the complaint alleges.


“Dr. Berger secretly inserted his own sperm into his patient, Sarah Depoian. He did so without her consent and against her wishes,” Depoian’s attorney Wolf said in a news release.

Depoian’s daughter Carolyn found out Dr. Berger was her father after she purchased DNA kits last year from Ancestry.com and 23andMe, according to court documents.


The results showed that she was related to Dr. Berger’s granddaughter and Dr. Berger’s second cousin, the lawsuit alleged. She later pieced it all together after talking to “one of her newfound relatives,” the complaint alleged.

“To say I experienced shock when I figured this out would be an extreme understatement,” Carolyn said in the statement. “It feels like reality has shifted. I just want to say how proud I am of my mom for speaking out, and I’m honored to stand by her side.”

After learning what had happened, Depoian reached out through her attorney to Dr. Berger, who didn’t deny that she consented only to insemination with a donor’s sperm who didn’t know her, and whom she didn’t know, according to the complaint.


CNN WCVB obtained a statement from Berger’s legal team denying the allegations.

“Dr. Merle Berger was a pioneer in the medical fertility field who in 50 years of practice helped thousands of families fulfill their dreams of having a child,” according to the statement. “He is widely known for his sensitivity to the emotional anguish of the women who came to him for help conceiving. The allegations concern events from over 40 years ago, in the early days of artificial insemination. At a time before sperm banks and IVF, it was dramatically different from modern-day fertility treatment.”

The statement said, “The allegations, which have changed repeatedly in the six months since the plaintiff’s attorney first ed Dr. Berger, have no legal or factual merit, and will be disproven in court.”


CNN has reached out to Dr. Berger for comment but has yet to hear back.

Boston IVF told CNN in a statement that the incident happened before they existed.

“We recently learned that Dr. Merle Berger was named in a lawsuit,” the company said.
“This matter occurred more than 40 years ago which was prior to Dr. Berger’s employment at BostonIVF and, in fact, before our company existed. We wish to highlight that the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility is much different than it was decades ago, and the safety measures and safeguards currently in place would make such allegations virtually impossible nowadays. Patients should be assured that our field continues to uphold the most rigorous ethical and medical standards.”

Dr. Berger retired from Boston IVF in 2020, according to WCVB.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/14/us/boston-fertility-doctor-lawsuit/index.html

“The allegations, which have changed repeatedly in the six months since the plaintiff’s attorney first ed Dr. Berger, have no legal or factual merit, and will be disproven in court.”

This is scandalous and except he comes clean, there's no way he can escape jail once confirmatory DNA matching is conducted and confirms that he is the father.

40 years later, his 'sin' caught up with him in old age and retirement. Ko si aşe gbe at all in this life. Wow!! Check my signature for free stuffs!

Chaii
Men keep on looking forward to troubles, but will turn around to blame Women and cry the devil.

Very wogged Dr

Since all this while,God is wonderful.this is why people said a evil deed can never be done without eventually reveal

Sukanmi what are you searching the internet for this sort of stories ?

Is this the new job? Internet trolling isn't enough ? 🤣

Nice development

He should be disgraced and his license revoked

this is why I no dey sell my own fuel for jerrycan

What of men that discover thru DNS that the child the mother said belongs to them isn't for them...that's deception as well...

So it means that men can also take women to court for same

US with funny funny headlines

Beverlyjean:
What of men that discover thru DNS that the child the mother said belongs to them isn't for them...that's deception as well...

So it means that men can also take women to court for same

No be only DNS, na DH... 😂 😂

Jeon:
Chaii
Men keep on looking forward to troubles, but will turn around to blame Women and cry the devil.

I'm sure a simple DNA test can settle the whole matter.

It's a win-win situation. She should keep quiet.

The wickedness of man

Human being is the biggest epidemic.

Beverlyjean:
What of men that discover thru DNS that the child the mother said belongs to them isn't for them...that's deception as well...

So it means that men can also take women to court for same

Oga my only concern, is why would you shamelessly use “F “ indicating female when you’re a nansense boy

The doctor was trying to experiment, perhaps he realized the supposed father’s semen was not viable enough (madt).

She don’t need to sue the doctor any longer. Suing her father may not be a good thing for her, but she should only collect her part of whatever he has as inheritance 😁

Things dey happen under this earth sha! Orisirisi

Imagine you carry your wife go this clinic with your sample, thinking it was used. After 40yrs you realized the kid 👦 isn't yours🙆‍♂️

Oyibo and their wahala..every time, na their problem jaree, i wish this news could reduce exchange rate, fuel price and economic hardship in nigeria..

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Which song we go sing for this kind gbedu now?

Some secrets are better keep secret for the sake of peace of mind.

BigBlackPreek:
Which song we go sing for this kind gbedu now?

Portable - zazu

Mhizzard:
Since all this while,God is wonderful.this is why people said a evil deed can never be done without eventually reveal

àìmọye

FreeStuffsNG:


https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/14/us/boston-fertility-doctor-lawsuit/index.html

Shey o yọ́ ọ́ do ni? ọ ni 19teen to ti pę

If you know you have not fvcked before, be the first to cast stones on him.

The woman wanted a child desperately and she go it in despatch!