A 36-year-old Washington woman thought something went wrong with her Ancestry.com DNA results, when an unknown name was identified as her biological father. She later learned it was the name of her parents' fertility doctor, who without consent allegedly used his own sperm to impregnate her mother.
Kelli Rowlette filed a lawsuit last week against Dr. Gerald Mortimer, his wife Linda McKinnon Mortimer, and the Obstetrics and Gynecology Associates of Idaho Falls.
In 1979, Rowlette's parents Sally Ashby and Howard Fowler were having trouble conceiving and saw Mortimer at the Obstetrics and Gynecology Associates of Idaho Falls, where the doctor diagnosed Ashby with a tipped uterus and Fowler with a low sperm count and low sperm mobility, according to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Idaho. Mortimer suggested a procedure where he said 85% of Fowler's sperm would be mixed with donor sperm and inseminated to increase chances of conception. The couple agreed, saying the donor sperm must come from a college student who looks like Fowler.
Instead, the doctor, who did not match the donor specifications, used his own sperm for the inseminations — three per month in June, July and August of 1980, according to the lawsuit.
Rowlette was born May 20, 1981. The family later had to move to Washington state, and when Ashby told the doctor, he cried — knowing this was his biological daughter, the suit says.
Fast forward to July 2017: The parents never told Rowlette, now married and living in Benton County, Washington, she was conceived with the help of fertility treatments. Ancestry.com tells Rowlette her biological father is a man named Gerald Mortimer. It must be a mistake, she tells her mom — who takes a look at the name on her own time and is completely "devastated," the lawsuit says. Ashby tells her now ex-husband Fowler the results, and they both sit on the news for several months, unsure whether or not to tell their daughter.
In October of 2017, Rowlette finds a copy of her birth certificate while cleaning out old papers at Fowler's house, sees Mortimer's signature as the doctor who delivered her, and discovers the truth, according to the lawsuit.
Now, the family is suing. Requests to reach Mortimer and the Idaho clinic in question were not immediately returned.
Rowlette's attorney released the following statement on April 4, 2018: "After much consideration, Mrs. Rowlette and her family made the difficult decision to allow their personal grief to become public through the legal process. Ultimately this decision was made for the purpose of holding the responsible parties accountable for a grievous and damaging violation of trust. While the family understands the public’s interest in their story, they ask that their privacy be respected as they focus on the difficult process of healing from this trauma."
As for Ancestry's help finding uncovering the truth, Eric Health, Ancestry.com's Chief Privacy Officer, told USA TODAY the company's tests help people "make new and powerful discoveries about their family history and identity" and might lead to "unexpected connections."
