My Fight Against Fertility Fraud

In life, there are certain situations that catch you off guard and inspire you to enact change. Learning about the heartbreaking acts of fertility fraud committed on families across the nation is one of those situations. When I watched the Netflix documentary “Our Father” and heard that there have been hundreds of cases where fertility doctors knowingly implanted their own genetic material into their female patients without their knowledge or consent, I was enraged. I was even more upset to find out that this human rights violation is currently legal in most states, and doctors have been getting away with this injustice for decades. My heart broke for the mothers and fathers who understandably put their trust in their doctor to perform a very personal operation to start their family, only to find out the biological father of their child is the doctor himself, not their selected specimen donor or even their husband. I can’t even begin to imagine what these individuals and their families have gone through, and I was determined to ensure they receive the justice they deserve so that no family will have to experience this excruciating pain in the future.

I immediately began reaching out to the advocates from the documentary, who reiterated the need for a federal solution. The advocates are mostly the offspring and products of fertility fraud, some of which are half siblings. Thus far, they have done incredible work to pass legislation at the state level. After many discussions together, we drafted the Protecting Families from Fertility Fraud Act, which would establish a new federal crime under the Sexual Assault chapter for knowingly misrepresenting the nature or source of DNA used in fertility treatments like IVF or IUI. This crime would have a maximum 10-year prison sentence and would provide restitution to victims. Recently, I introduced this legislation with strong bipartisan support and I’m optimistic this overdue and critical bill will become law.

Last week, I had the honor of hosting a roundtable in Washington featuring some of the advocates with which I’ve had the opportunity to work. Words cannot express how much I admire their bravery in sharing their personal stories of how they’ve been affected by fertility fraud. It was emotional and hard to discuss, but we left the meeting with hope that we will achieve our goal in getting our legislation passed.