Two women sued the makers of the Netflix documentary "Our Father" as they claimed that the film revealed their secrets as children to viewers without their permission.
The women are two of the children fathered by Donald Cline, the former fertility doctor who used his sperm to impregnate women in Indiana while lying to them about the donor of the sperm.
Secrets exposed
The complaint alleged that neither the plaintiffs nor their families knew that Cline was their real biological father until they took at-home-DNA tests in 2019. When they learned about their origin, both plaintiffs tried to keep their secret private, choosing not to disclose who their biological father was, The Hill reported.
The complaint said that the makers of "Our Father" reached out to several children to ask if they would be willing to be filmed on camera or submit photos of themselves. The producer clarified that none of the secret children would be identified in the documentary without their explicit consent.
In a message, the producer said that some of the children involved in the documentary were more comfortable than others, and they were assured they would not be identified unless they explicitly permitted them to do so.
Despite the assurance, the plaintiffs were shown during a scene when the film displayed photographs that showed images of the secret children. It also listed their names while stating they were a "match." The two women added that the other secret children had their photographs and names blurred, but the filmmakers did not give this protection to them.
The complaint also stated that both Netflix and Blumhouse Productions were at fault for breaking their pledge and revealing them in the documentary despite not having consent. The revelation caused "severe harm," reputational injury, stress, distress, embarrassment, and emotional trauma.
The clips of the scene identifying the plaintiffs were also used on social media accounts, revealing their identities to more viewers.
The women sought financial compensation for the harm the firm had caused them.
"Our Father"
The documentary "Our Father" starts with the story of Jacoba Ballard, who thought she was an only child, only to discover through an at-home-DNA test that she has at least eight half-siblings. As the group learned more about their family tree, they discovered a sinister truth - their parent's fertility doctor had been inseminating his patients with his sperm without their parent's knowledge and consent.
She then approached FOX59's Angela Ganote to ask for her help in investigating the crimes of their biological father, Fox 59 reported.
The documentary looked into the actions of their biological father, Donald Cline, a former Indiana-based fertility doctor who used his sperm for insemination without his patient's knowledge. He has fathered at least 50 children since then, including Jacoba Ballard.
The story also touched on how Cline was barely held accountable for his action as it was not classified as a crime under federal or Indiana State Law. In 2017, he was convicted of obstructing the police's investigation and was given a one-year suspended prison sentence. The Medical Licensing Board of Indiana also stripped him of his medical license in 2018, the Radio Times reported.
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