Ancestry.com Revealed This Woman's Father Was Her Family』s Fertility Doctor. Now She's Suing
A woman allegedly discovered her biological father was thefertility doctor her parents used to conceive her in 1980 throughan Ancestry.com DNA test, according to a lawsuit filed thisweek.
Howard Fowler and Sally Ashby, then married but now divorced,were having difficulty conceiving, and in 1979 they sought helpfrom Dr. Gerald E. Mortimer, according to the complaint filed inU.S. District Court in Idaho. The suit alleges Mortimer diagnosedFowler with 「a low sperm count and a low sperm mortality」 anddiagnosed Ashby with a tipped uterus. Mortimer completed aprocedure in June, July, and August 1980 in which a mixture 85% ofFowlers』 DNA along with 15% of a donor』s DNA are used for theinsemination. The couple specified that they would only do theprocedure if the donor was a college student, over 6-feet tall,with brown hair and blue eyes.
Ashby became pregnant in August 1980.
But in July 2017, Ashby and Fowler』s daughter Kelli Rowlette「received a notification on Ancestry.com that a DNA sample she hadsubmitted matched with Dr. Mortimer』s DNA sample,」 according to thecomplaint. 「Ancestry.com predicted a parent-child relationshipbetween Dr. Mortimer and Mrs. Rowlette.」 Rowlette, who is alsolisted as a plaintiff, did not know who Dr. Mortimer was when shesaw the notification.
Rowlette was convinced that the Ancestry.com test was an error,and mentioned this to Ashby, who after examining the results on herown was 「devastated」 to see Dr. Mortimer』s name. Ashby told Folwer,and the two of them allegedly anguished over whether to tell theirdaughter. Rowlette eventually found out, when helping go throughold papers discovered her birth certificate with Dr. Mortimer』ssignature on it.
The couple maintains in the complaint that they did not knowthat Dr. Mortimer』s genetic material was being used. 「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 tothe Procedure,」 the complaint says.
TIME called a number for Dr. Mortimer, but it went straight to afull voicemail inbox; we will try back. It was told that Dr.Mortimer had retired several years ago.
Ancestry.com said in a statement, 「DNA testing helps people makenew and powerful discoveries about their family history andidentity. We are committed to delivering the most accurate results,however with this, people may learn of unexpected connections.」
「With Ancestry, customers maintain ownership and control overtheir DNA data,」 the statement continued. 「Anyone who takes a testcan change their DNA matching settings at any time, meaning that ifthey opt out, their profile and relationship will not be visible toother customers.」
The Ashby, Fowler and Rowlette are suing Dr. Mortimer,now-retired, along with Obstetrics and Gynecology Associates ofIdaho Falls, where he used to practice, for battery, fraud,intentional and negligent emotional distress, breach of contractand medical negligence, among other charges. They are seeking$75,000 in damages, according to the complaint.
When reached for comment, the Obstetrics and GynecologyAssociates of Idaho Falls gave the following statement: 「None ofthe healthcare providers of were part of the Obstetrics andGynecology Associate of Idaho Falls practice from 1979 to 1980, andhave diligently strived to provide care to their patients that isin compliance of the standards of healthcare practice.」
