Our Father is the latest most anticipated true crime documentary coming to Netflix. The documentary follows several people in Indianapolis who discover they have over 50 half-siblings through DNA testing, they all share the same father Dr Donald Cline, a fertility doctor who secretly inseminated his patients with his own sperm.
Our Father investigates Cline and the impact his actions have had on the lives of his patients’ children. Here’s everything we know about Our Father on Netflix.
When is the Our Father release date on Netflix?
Our Father is scheduled to arrive on Netflix on Wednesday, May 11, at 8am.
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What to expect
Through modern-day DNA testing and social media, at least 50 people so far have realised they were half-siblings and that Cline was their father. According to an investigative report from Angela Ganote at Fox 59 Indianapolis (who appears in the documentary), the total number of children Cline fathered is likely close to 90.
Some reenactments in the film may have been dramatised. At the time of Cline’s insidious inseminations, DNA testing wasn’t widely available and the science and technology behind modern-day fertility medicine were much more scarce and less advanced.
It was quite difficult to keep effective sperm stored safely and difficult to prove whose sperm ultimately was used to father patients’ children. Initially, Cline rejected the allegations and lied to state investigators about fathering the children in the 1970s and 1980s.
However, he later admitted to using his sperm only when other donors weren’t available. He claimed to have used his sperm samples three times but DNA testing shows he did it at least 90 times.
Cline retired in 2011 and he eventually did plead guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice in 2017 but didn’t get any jail time for his offences due to his suspended sentence. A year later Cline was sentenced to probation and a $500 fine, he also surrendered his Indiana medical licence and is prohibited from applying for one in the state again but because he’s retired this didn’t impact him.
Since then a law has been passed in the state of Indiana prohibiting fertility fraud that allows for civil action. Currently, only seven states in the US have laws prohibiting fertility fraud.
