Woman claims her parents’ fertility doctor used his sperm to conceive her

He hid it from the family for decades.

A woman in the United States has filed a lawsuit against her parents' fertility doctor after a DNA test showed he was her biological father. PEOPLE report that Kelli Rowlette, 36, has accused Gerald Mortimer of using his sperm to impregnate her mother when her parents - Sally Ashby and Harold Fowler - turned to the doctor in their fertility struggles. According to the publication, the lawsuit states:

“Since discovering Dr. Mortimer’s actions, Ms. Ashby, Mr. Fowler, and Mrs. Rowlette have been suffering immeasurably. “Had Mr. Fowler and Ms. Ashby known Dr. Mortimer was going to inseminate Ms. Ashby with his own genetic material, they would not have agreed to the Procedure.”

In 1979, Ms Ashby and Mr Fowler were living in Idaho Falls, Idaho, when the former couple had trouble conceiving. According to the lawsuit, they turned to Dr Mortimer - a now-retired obstetrician gynaecologist - for help. Dr Mortimer reportedly ended up determining that Ms Ashby had a tilted uterus and Mr Fowler had a low sperm count, so he suggested they undergo artificial insemination. He told the couple that he would be using a mixture that had 85 per cent of Flower's "genetic material" and 15 per cent from an unknown donor - and they agreed, provided the donor was over six feet tall and “a college student who physically resembled Mr Fowler”. PEOPLE report the family alleges in the lawsuit:

“Dr. Mortimer ultimately performed the procedure. However, instead of using donor genetic material and Mr. Fowler’s genetic material as promised, Dr. Mortimer inseminated Ms. Ashby with his own genetic material. “Dr. Mortimer falsely represented that he had used donor genetic material and Mr. Fowler’s genetic material, and intentionally concealed this fact from Ms. Ashby and Mr. Fowler.”

The couple welcomed Ms Rowlette in May 1981, before welcoming a son two years later. Eventually, the family moved to Washington state - which led to the doctor being very upset. The documents continue:

“Dr. Mortimer cried when Ms. Ashby informed him they were moving. “Dr. Mortimer knew Kelli Rowlette was his biological daughter but did not disclose this to Ms. Ashby or Mr. Fowler.”

In 2017, Ms Rowlette submitted a DNA sample to the website Ancestry.com - and in July that year, the results showed a parent-child relationship between her and Dr Mortimer. She initially believed that the results were an error, as she had no idea who Dr Mortimer was, but her parents were devastated when she told them. Her parents debate for months wether they should tell Ms Rowlette who Dr Mortimer was, but she ended up stumbling upon her birth certificate a few months later - which had been signed by Dr Mortimer. The lawsuit continue:

“Mrs. Rowlette was horrified and contacted Ms Ashby and Mr Fowler in a panic to relay what she had found. “Since discovering Dr Mortimer’s actions, Ms Ashby, Mr Fowler, and Mrs. Rowlette have been suffering immeasurably.”

The family are suing Dr Mortimer, his wife, and Obstetrics and Gynecology Associates of Idaho Falls. They are accusing them of medical negligence, fraud, battery, negligent infliction of emotional distress and breach of contract.