Netflix users have been left feeling understandably disturbed following the release of the documentary Our Father.
After conducting a DNA test in 2014, Indiana resident Jacoba Ballard discovered her biological father was the fertility doctor her parents had used to helped them with their pregnancy.
Ballard discovered she shared dozens of half-siblings with the same father, Donald Cline, who had repeatedly inseminated patients with his own sperm without their consent or knowledge to create numerous offspring of his own.
Netflix's newly released documentary focuses on Ballard's discovery and the disturbing revelation that the number of people related to Cline continues to increase.
The situation is almost too horrific to believe, but for many viewers the worst part is that Cline largely got away with it. The doctor was taken to court, but a blind spot in Indiana state law meant he had not violated criminal law at the time. As a result, he was let off with a fine of $500 (£400) for obstructing justice by denying the allegations, as well as being stripped of his medical license.
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One viewer said they 'bawled' after watching the series, while another described it as 'one of the most disturbing, angering, heartbreaking, and weird true crime cases [they've] ever come across'.
Following the release of Our Father on 11 May, another shocked viewer wrote: "Oh my GOD has anybody watched Our Father on Netflix? Its [sic] INSANE, I can’t believe this actually happened in real life what the hell ??? Literally no words, absolutely terrifying."
"Watching “our father” and I really need a lawyer to explain to me in detail how a doctor using his own sperm to impregnate his patients without their knowledge and consent is not rape or some kind of sex crime. it’s just completely legal.. how?," another commented.
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In an interview with The Guardian, Ballard revealed the relatives had discovered another sibling on the day the trailer for Our Father was released.
She commented: "So many of them don’t even know they were donor-conceived, and some believed they came from their dad’s sperm. Every time we get a new match I give them this news, and it’s like I’m ruining their life.”
Cline is not the only doctor to have used his own sperm to inseminate a patient, with viewers left further shocked to discover it wasn't a unique case.
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Topics: Netflix, Film and TV, Twitter, Life
Emily Brown