Did Doc Implant Own Sperm in Patient?

He's White, Woman's Husband Black; Lawsuit Settled, but Other Patients Starting to Ask Questions; DNA Test Was Never Ordered

(CBS)  A Connecticut doctor was sued for allegedly using his own sperm -- instead of a patient's husband's -- for an artificial insemination procedure that produced twins.

CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace reports thatd the 2005 lawsuit was quickly settled for an undisclosed amount of money and sealed, so the family and doctor aren't commenting on the case.

But other patients who used the doctor to get pregnant are asking questions and contacting lawyers and so far, Wallace says, at least one attorney has come forward, saying he may ask a court to force the doctor to answer questions raised by the allegations.

The accusations against Connecticut Dr. Ben Ramaley surfaced after a month-long investigation by the Greenwich Time newspaper.

Reporter Debra Friedman discovered the suit filed by an unnamed family after a DNA test found that the husband wasn't the biological father of the couple's twin girls.

Friedman told CBS News, "They were a mixed race couple, the mother is white and the father is black. The twin girls, their complexion was so fair that it immediately caused concern to the parents."

Wallace says Ramaley is identified in the lawsuit as Dr. Roe. It reads, "Dr. Roe intentionally inserted his own sperm into (the patient), causing (the patient) to become pregnant and give birth to children biologically fathered by Dr. Roe."

Ramaley's attorney, Steve Errante, says his client denies using his own sperm -- and says the matter was a terrible mistake. "There was an error made, and this woman unfortunately was impregnated with sperm other than her husband's -- but not Dr. Ramaley's," Errante told CBS News.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health investigated and fined Ramaley $10,000 for using the "wrong man's sperm," but placed no restrictions on his license, and never ordered Ramaley to undergo a DNA test because, it said, it didn't have the authority to.

Friedman asserts, "There is one way to resolve this case and it's with a DNA test."

Wallace added on "The Early Show" that what remains a mystery -- because all the court records are sealed and a gag order is in place -- is what led the family to believe it wasn't just the wrong sperm -- but the doctor's sperm -- in the first place.

Why wasn't a DNA test ordered in this case?

CBS News legal analyst Lisa Bloom said on "The Early Show" it's "baffling" that the order wasn't issued either in the civil case or when the Connecticut Department of Public Health got involved.

"First," said Bloom, "there was the civil case and the couple in that case could have asked the judge while the case was ongoing to order a DNA test, but that case settled and so that disposed of it. Then, the Department of Public Health came in. Under my reading of their rules, they did have the authority to order the DNA test and they simply failed to do so."

However, Bloom added that the press may not know certain details, such as whether Dr. Ramaley is able to have children.

"It's very hard for me to understand why they would not order him to do the DNA test to get to the bottom of this, if anything to protect other people, other patients in his practice," she said.

Bloom pointed out that another concern is Ramaley's unrestricted license.

"Apparently, the Department of Public Health felt this was a matter of mislabeling, that he simply didn't have clear handwriting on the labels of the sperm bottles, and that it was simply a misunderstanding," she said. "A $10,000 fine is really a slap on the wrist to a doctor like this, and especially allowing him to have an unrestricted license, where he has unfettered access to other women in his community - that's very surprising."

[stillwaters6]

Go for the child support sweetie...in addition to the lawsuit...oh and be sure to hook up the pension fund and the estate upon his death.

[Ichabod09]

So technically speaking, the Physician may have had it in for the father?

[Skirt-Lifter]

""the 2005 lawsuit was quickly settled for an undisclosed amount of money and sealed, so the family and doctor aren't commenting on the case.""

Case closed ... i read no further.

[incog-nito]

Wrong! The quick settlement and the hush money. That reeks of something fishy. No doubt an investigation will be forthcoming.

[OregonJames]

I wonder what tool he used to insert his sperm...

[AParent]

This is another case just like the fertility doctor in Vienna, VA a number of years ago. He was tried and convicted. It was found that he used his own sperm to father his unsuspecting patients children.
Most women did not want their privacy invaded and refused to prosecute. The good Mormon doctor is now doing research in a Mormon facility.
"A former prominent Fairfax County doctor used his own sperm to impregnate women who came to him for treatment of fertility problems, fathering at least seven children, according to a federal indictment returned yesterday in Alexandria.
Cecil B. Jacobson, a former George Washington University geneticist who owned the Reproductive Genetics Center Ltd., of Vienna, also was accused in the indictment of repeatedly injecting women who paid up to $5,000 for fertility treatments with a drug that would falsely indicate in tests that they were pregnant."

[AParent]

This is another case just like the fertility doctor in Vienna, VA a number of years ago. He was tried and convicted. It was found that he used his own sperm to father his unsuspecting patients children.
Most women did not want their privacy invaded and refused to prosecute. The good Mormon doctor is now doing research in a Mormon facility.
"A former prominent Fairfax County doctor used his own sperm to impregnate women who came to him for treatment of fertility problems, fathering at least seven children, according to a federal indictment returned yesterday in Alexandria.
Cecil B. Jacobson, a former George Washington University geneticist who owned the Reproductive Genetics Center Ltd., of Vienna, also was accused in the indictment of repeatedly injecting women who paid up to $5,000 for fertility treatments with a drug that would falsely indicate in tests that they were pregnant."

[sam-kiley]

bonjour..
eh bien..quelle histoire..

ladevise du doc ramalley serait donc..
"mes dames..vous ne serez mieux servies que par moi meme "..purée..
cela dit et plaisanterie a part..

Friedman asserts, "There is one way to resolve this case and it's with a DNA test."
ils sont faits pour ça ..encore heureux qu'il existent..faites le test ADN..d'abord ..tirez des "conclusions" aprés...au revoir

[Ichabod09]

Sam anyone can use an online language translator for example: mangez la merde et mourez vous âne pompeux

[door331]

from the info in the article this is all speculation (and a pretty far stretch at that) against the dr. That said-- I dont think you should have kids if you cant make em the old fashioned way-- deal with it.

[rf35]

Another reason artificial insemination should not be going on. How many other doctors feel their sperm would produce better babies than the intended father? If couples can't have children naturally, then they should be content to love each other and feel heartened by the knowledge that they are not contributing to the worlds excessive population. If they simply cannot live without a child, there are more than enough kids in need of loving homes waiting to be adopted. For you religious types, maybe the inability to conceive naturally is God's will...ever think of that?

[ffoulkes-2009]

The sperm may not be coming from the other doctors...you have no idea who's they may use...could be from some serial killer for all you know.

[eferrell2]

Child support would be the least of my worries! Did you get a good look at that man? Ewwwwwwwwwww...............

[lmartink]

Hey Doc, there's a better way of doing that, and you will have more fun.

[averjane]

They should test some of the other women who are concerned to see if this was simply a mislabeling of sperm bottles. If other babies have his DNA, then you'll have your answer and proceed accordingly.

[dblbar1]

if the babies were found to be his, wonder if they could make him pay child support.....