A Washington state woman says she was shocked to learn through an Ancestry.com test that her biological father was her parent’s fertility doctor.
Kelli Rowlette, 36, took legal action against reproductive specialist Dr. Gerald E. Mortimer after he was revealed as her DNA match through the site, the Daily Beast reported.
The lawsuit claims the doctor was aware he used his own sperm to impregnate Rowlette’s mother when she and her husband went to him in the early 1980s.
“Dr. Mortimer fraudulently and knowingly concealed his use of his own genetic material in the Procedure,” according to the complaint. “Dr. Mortimer knew Kelli Rowlette was his biological daughter but did not disclose this.”
To increase chances of fertility, the couple agreed to mix the husband’s sperm with other matching donors, noting they preferred college students more than 6 feet tall.
Rowlette accuses Mortimer, who later delivered her, of making false statements to her parents about following their wishes and never revealing he was the biological father.
Rowlette initially dismissed the Ancestry.com test that determined Mortimer was her father, but later found her birth certificate with his signature, the Daily Beast reported.
She is suing the retired doctor claiming medical negligence, battery and fraud.