Thanks to advancements in DNA testing, anyone can look up their genealogical history these days and, while for most people the results are a fun insight into where they ultimately came from, for the subjects of Our Father, the outcome was much more sinister.
The upcoming Netflix documentary looks at the story of several people in Indianapolis who discovered through DNA testing that they had over 50 half-siblings with their father being Donald Cline, a fertility doctor who secretly inseminated his patients with his own sperm.
Our Father follows the criminal investigation into Cline, who was known as the “best infertility doctor in Indianapolis”, and the effect his actions have had on the lives of his patients’ children.
Read on for everything you need to know about Our Father – Netflix’s upcoming true crime documentary.
Our Father release date
Our Father is expected to arrive on Netflix on Wednesday 11th May.
The documentary will land on Netflix at 8am GMT.
What is Our Father about?
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Our Father looks into the actions of Donald Cline, a former Indiana-based fertility doctor who used his own sperm for inseminations without his patients’ knowledge, resulting in him fathering at least 50 children.
The film tells the story of Jacoba Ballard, a woman who believed she was an only child, only to find out through an at-home DNA test that she had seven half-siblings.
“As the group set out to learn more about their curious family tree, they soon discovered the sickening truth: Their parents’ fertility doctor had been inseminating his patients with his own sperm – without their knowledge or consent,” Netflix teases.
“As Ballard and her newfound siblings realised they’ve barely begun to untangle his dark web of deceit, their pursuit of justice lies at the heart of this profoundly unsettling story about an unimaginable breach of trust.”
As Cline’s actions were not classed as a crime under federal or Indiana state law, he was not charged with anything for the fertility fraud. However in 2017, he was convicted on two counts of obstructing the police’s investigation into the matter and given a one-year suspended prison sentence.
Cline was also stripped of his medical license and in 2018, the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana moved to stop him from applying to reinstate his license in the future.
Our Father trailer
Netflix dropped the chilling trailer for Our Father earlier this month, teasing the documentary’s interviews with the people who learned that Cline was their father.
“I had to tell my husband, ‘We’re just now finding out that Julie is not yours,’” one of Cline’s patients says in the clip.
While another one of Cline’s biological children says: “The majority of us live within a 25 mile radius of each other. I walk around and I could be related to anyone.
“I dread every new match that comes, but they just keep coming.”
You can watch the full-length trailer below ahead of the documentary’s May release date.
Our Father arrives on Netflix on Wednesday 11th May. Check out more of our Entertainment and Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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