PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsCommentSettlement reached against Canadian fertility doctor who used his own sperm… but no criminal charges

BioNews

Settlement reached against Canadian fertility doctor who used his own sperm… but no criminal charges

Published 10 September 2021 posted in Comment and appears in BioNews 1113

Author

Sara Cohen

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.

Many readers will have heard about the case of Dr Norman Barwin from Ontario, Canada, who, from the early 1970s until the 2010s, allegedly inseminated hundreds of his patients with his own sperm or the wrong sperm...

Many readers will have heard about the case of Dr Norman Barwin from Ontario, Canada, who, from the early 1970s until the 2010s, allegedly inseminated hundreds of his patients with his own sperm or the wrong sperm (ie, sperm other than the sperm that the patient intended be used).

At least 100 people have been found to have been conceived using the wrong sperm while being treated by Dr Barwin, at least 17 of whom were conceived through the use of his own sperm. Dr Barwin's medical license was revoked in 2019 (see BioNews 1004), previously having been suspended in 2013 for the same conduct (see BioNews 691), and again in 2014.

In July 2021, an Ontario court certified a class action suit against Dr Barwin for battery, breach of trust, breach of contract, negligence and other torts. The class includes some 226 plaintiffs, including the aforementioned people conceived by Dr Barwin using the wrong sperm, as well as patients who were wrongly inseminated with the sperm, and patients whose sperm was wrongly used to conceive someone else's child. The same month, the plaintiffs and Dr Barwin came to a proposed settlement that has since been approved by the court. The settlement is considered to be the first of its kind, not only in Canada, but internationally (although unfortunately, Dr Barwin's actions in using the wrong sperm are not unique).

The reason that the proposed Barwin settlement is so significant is twofold: It is a large class action settlement (more than 13 million Canadian dollars), and some of the settlement funds would be directed to create a private DNA database (see BioNews 1106) for the claimants to find genetic matches among them, and people who left their sperm in the care of Dr Barwin are able to test their DNA against any of the participating claimants.

The settlement states that '[t]he primary purpose of the DNA Database will be to provide the Children Class with the opportunity to identify their biological fathers, obtain medical health history, and locate half-siblings.' Ostensibly, the DNA Database answers at least some of the claimants' questions about their genetic origin, in a manner that would have been expensive and difficult, if not impossible, without the database.

The part of the settlement, though, that really stands out for me is where, in the agreed statement of facts, it states:'(a) The Plaintiffs commenced this Action in Ontario against the Defendant alleging, among other things, that errors made in the course of artificial inseminations... [and] (b) The Defendant has denied and continues to deny all of the Plaintiffs' claims in this Action, has denied any liability of any kind whatsoever, and states that he would have actively and diligently pursued affirmative and other defences had this Action not been settled.'

By calling the misuse of the sperm a mere error, and by denying all of the Plaintiffs' claims, Dr Barwin has failed to take any responsibility for his actions. One is left questioning why criminal charges, such as fraud, or assault, were not laid against Dr Barwin. Perhaps a conviction on criminal charges would have brought some peace to Dr Barwin's victims.

The number of times a doctor has seemingly knowingly used the wrong sperm to inseminate a patient, including using his own sperm, is nothing short of shocking, and one wonders how many other times this may have happened that have simply not yet been discovered.

These doctors typically get away with this abhorrent behaviour without any criminal liability, and without significant financial liability either. The Barwin case makes some important inroads by recognising the significant damage caused by Dr Barwin's actions, but this recognition is only made from a financial perspective. Without criminal charges being laid, this is the best that Dr Barwin's victims can hope for.

Related Articles

Image by Bill McConkey via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts sperm swimming towards an egg.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Bill McConkey via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts sperm swimming towards an egg.
News
18 July 2022 • 2 minutes read

First fertility fraud lawsuit filed in Kentucky

by Stella Hume

The first fertility fraud lawsuit in Kentucky has been filed against a doctor who used his own sperm, by one of his patients who campaigned for the recent change in the law there...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
1 April 2022 • 2 minutes read

Woman impregnated with doctor's sperm awarded $5.25m by jury

by Hannah Flynn

Over $5 million has been awarded in compensatory and punitive damages to a woman in the USA, whose doctor inseminated her with his own sperm...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
4 February 2022 • 2 minutes read

Hospital sets up DNA database after doctor used his own sperm on patients

by Tsvetana Stoilova

At least 21 children of a doctor in the Netherlands who used his own sperm to treat fertility patients, have been discovered by an organisation that helps donor-conceived people trace their biological parents...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
19 November 2021 • 2 minutes read

Women sue over lack of pain relief during egg retrieval

by Francesca Gavins

Seven women have accused a US fertility clinic of failing to safeguard its supply of opioid painkillers after a nurse replaced fentanyl with saline...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
30 July 2021 • 2 minutes read

Part of donor doctor payout earmarked for DNA database

by Georgina Al-Badri

A lawsuit over a Canadian fertility doctor, who used his own sperm to impregnate patients has reached a settlement of £13 million Canadian dollars....

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
28 June 2019 • 2 minutes read

Canadian doctor loses licence for using own sperm in IVF

by Sarah Gregory

A Canadian fertility specialist, Dr Norman Barwin, has lost his medical licence for using the wrong sperm, including his own, to inseminate a number of IVF patients...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
13 April 2018 • 2 minutes read

Canadian doctor accused of using own sperm with 11 patients

by Laura O'Donovan

A Canadian fertility doctor is being sued by 11 former patients after DNA tests revealed he used his own semen in their treatment...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
22 November 2016 • 3 minutes read

Canadian fertility doctor accused of using own sperm to impregnate patients

by Ryan Ross

A Canadian fertility doctor is facing a class action lawsuit by the families of some of his former patients, who allege that he used his own sperm in donor-conception procedures without their knowledge or consent...

Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
CC0 1.0
Image by Alan Handyside via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human egg soon after fertilisation, with the two parental pronuclei clearly visible.
News
17 September 2010 • 2 minutes read

Canadian fertility doctor sued over sperm mix-up claims

by Ben Jones

A Canadian doctor is being sued by two of his patients who discovered their children were not genetically related to the believed donors, reports the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« After our campaign, egg storage law comes out of the cold

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
25 July 2022 • 4 minutes read

Was the Women's Health Strategy worth the wait?

25 July 2022 • 5 minutes read

200 Years of Mendel: From Peas to Personalised Medicine

18 July 2022 • 5 minutes read

The birth of genetics: celebrating 200 years of Mendel

15 July 2022 • 2 minutes read

FILM: Prioritising Patient Safety – How to Minimise Risk in Fertility Treatment

11 July 2022 • 6 minutes read

Dutch Embryos Act under revision

1 August 2022 • 4 minutes read

Women's Health Strategy plans reflect rising needs of same-sex female couples

25 July 2022 • 4 minutes read

Was the Women's Health Strategy worth the wait?

25 July 2022 • 4 minutes read

Why the UK should extend the 14-day rule to 28 days

25 July 2022 • 5 minutes read

200 Years of Mendel: From Peas to Personalised Medicine

18 July 2022 • 5 minutes read

The birth of genetics: celebrating 200 years of Mendel

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856