Family Sues Austrian Reproductive Specialist Over Allegations of Unconsented Insemination

A family from Vorarlberg has filed a lawsuit against a reproductive specialist in Styria, alleging that the physician injected the mother with donor sperm without her knowledge. Reports indicate that the biological father was also unaware that his sperm had been used in these procedures.

The family has reached out to the media to seek other potential victims of similar circumstances. As of now, the doctor has not issued any public statement regarding the allegations.

The couple, of Turkish descent, initially consulted the physician in 1992 for fertility treatments. Due to language barriers, they reportedly faced challenges in understanding the procedures, and the necessary informed consent was allegedly not provided. The attorney representing the family, Lisa Holzmann, stated that the mother believed she was receiving medication to enhance fertility, expecting conception to occur naturally. However, it was revealed that throughout 14 treatment sessions, the mother was inseminated with donor sperm, resulting in the birth of three daughters.

The situation came to light when one of the daughters, a physician, felt a disconnect with her family and opted to take a DNA test. The test results indicated that the man she considered her father was not her biological parent. Further DNA analysis showed that her sisters were also not biologically related to their presumed father, and their actual biological fathers remain unknown.

During her investigation in genetic databases, the daughter discovered the identity of her biological father, who was reportedly unaware of her existence. This man had visited the same reproductive specialist in the 1990s solely to evaluate his hormone levels and had no knowledge that his sperm had been used in insemination procedures without consent.

The legal representative for the family emphasized that the sperm was intentionally frozen and used for insemination without the knowledge or consent of all parties involved, which is a clear violation of ethical medical practices. Furthermore, it has been indicated that proper documentation should have been secured, but the Styrian government did not receive any records as mandated by law.

There are claims that the physician and his son have stated that a portion of patient files was lost due to water damage in a storage facility. The family suspects this is a false excuse, especially since another patient had experienced a similar situation and was told by the doctor that her records were lost during a move.

The family is now seeking to identify other possible affected individuals and believes that the physician may have administered donor sperm to other patients without their consent. Consequently, they have reported the physician to the Graz public prosecutor's office for suspected severe commercial fraud and have filed a civil lawsuit for damages.