Family Law

Intense And Dramatic Testimony Propels Texas Fertility Fraud Bill Forward

This woman's sad story may provide the blueprint for change throughout the country.

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(Photo by Andrey Popov/Getty Images)

Thanks to home DNA kits, the truth is coming out. And we have learned that the truth is that many, many fertility doctors were impregnating their patients with their own sperm, even though they told their patients that they would be using either the patient’s husband’s sperm, or that of an unknown anonymous donor.

Earlier this month, a woman named Eve Wiley from Dallas, Texas, took her family’s intimate story of betrayal public. She offered her dramatic testimony before the Texas State Senate Criminal Justice Committee. Wiley recounted how her father and mother had sought medical assistance to conceive. Based on advice given to the couple by their physician, they agreed to an intrauterine insemination with donor sperm, for their best chances of having the baby they longed for. The couple researched and carefully selected California Cryobank Donor #106. The procedure was successful and Wiley was conceived. Unfortunately, Wiley’s father died only a few years later, when she was 7.

She Found Her Donor Dad; But Then, Over A Decade Later, Discovered They Weren’t Related At All

Later, at the age of 16, Wiley was shocked to discover, after engaging in what she thought was harmless snooping in her mother’s files, that she was donor conceived. Two years later, she was able to exchange information with Donor #106, leading to the development of a full parent-child relationship. Wiley has been calling Donor #106 “dad” for the last 13 years. In fact, Wiley and Donor #106’s relationship became so close, he officiated Wiley’s wedding.

Wiley and her husband had a child themselves. But their son has suffered acute medical issues, and this past year he was facing his seventh surgery before his fourth birthday. In order to try to gain some additional genetic insight to help their child, Wiley and her husband both took home DNA kits. For Wiley, the results were surprising, to say the least. The results changed her fundamental understanding of her biological history, and the composition of her family. The man she has been calling “dad” for so many years, believing he was her parents’ donor, was not genetically related to her at all! Instead, she discovered that her mother’s doctor was her biological father. Wiley described having to be the one to tell her mother about her doctor’s betrayal. And then having to be the one to tell her “dad” — who had only been in the picture because everyone thought he was the donor — that he wasn’t actually her dad.

And the surprises did not end there. Deeply disturbed by this information, she reached out to attorneys to explore her and her mother’s options, only to discover that what her mother’s doctor had done was not clearly illegal.

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Wiley has been on a mission to change that.

SB 1259  — Jail Time For “Daddy Doctors”

Working with Texas State Senator Joan Huffman, Wiley has been a driving force behind Senate Bill 1259. That’s the proposed legislation in Texas to specifically criminalize this type of deceptive activity by doctors in Texas.

The bill amends the Texas Penal Code by adding a new element of sexual assault applying to health care providers. If passed, it will become a felony, with jail time of up to two years, if a health care service provider uses “human reproductive material from a donor knowing that the other person has not expressly consented to the use of material from that donor.” That doesn’t sound like a lot to ask. In fact, it’s surprising this isn’t already a clearly felonious, prosecutable act.

Another key element of the bill is that it amends the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure to give victims two years from the date the offense was discovered to bring a criminal action for sexual assault. Given that most doctor-conceived persons and their parents do not find out what happened to their family until decades later, and happen to take a DNA kit, this provision eliminates the statute of limitations barrier that has so far protected a number of doctors engaging in this behavior.

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After Wiley’s testimony, the Criminal Justice Committee unanimously voted in favor of the bill, and on April 11, the full State Senate approved the bill. The equivalent House Bill 3705, introduced by Representative Stephanie Klick, is now up for consideration by the Texas House of Representatives’ Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. The Governor has tweeted (of course) his support. Wiley and fellow advocates have reported general support from most Texas legislators. However, they did encounter one legislator who was open with his belief that the doctor had done nothing wrong… and happened to be friends with the doctor.

After her discovery, Wiley reached out and corresponded with the doctor. He confirmed that he was her father. For the time being, she is not revealing the doctor’s name publicly, but is instead choosing to focus on the merits of the bill, and on protecting others. However, more of Wiley’s story, including the doctor’s identity, is expected to be revealed in a 20/20 segment expected out in early May.

Wiley has also discovered she is hardly alone. She is a part of several Facebook groups for persons finding themselves in similar situations, with members throughout the country who uncovered similar betrayal by doctors. Wiley is an inspiration. Her willingness to share her family’s intimate story and work tirelessly has brought hope for concrete change in her state, and may provide the blueprint for change throughout the country.

Ellen TrachmanEllen Trachman is the Managing Attorney of Trachman Law Center, LLC, a Denver-based law firm specializing in assisted reproductive technology law, and co-host of the podcast I Want To Put A Baby In You. You can reach her at [email protected].

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