baby feet

News on the Fertility Fraud Front: Mortimer v. Rowlette Raises Possibility of Punitive Damages

By Jody Lyneé Madeira

Since families and doctor-conceived children first began to file lawsuits against physicians and clinics alleging “fertility fraud,” a term for illicit physician insemination, each subsequent court order has presented much-needed information about how courts could address these allegations. Mortimer v. Rowlette, pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, was one of the first filed, and has provided considerable insight into how these novel claims could be resolved.

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Laboratory IVF petri dish under a microscope.

Fertility Fraud: Major Developments in Texas, Idaho, and Indiana

By Jody Lyneé Madeira

Spring of 2019 brought flowers, showers…and many updates on the “fertility fraud” front.

Perhaps the biggest developments are on the legislative front. On May 5, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed Senate Bill 174 into law, creating civil and criminal causes of action for fertility fraud for former patients and their offspring (and donors whose gametes were used in an unconsented-to manner).

Plaintiffs who sue in tort can be reimbursed for the costs of the fertility procedure and $10,000 in damages. The act makes it a level 6 felony to make a misrepresentation involving human reproductive material and a medical procedure, medical device, or drug. Read More