BOSTON (WHDH) - A new lawsuit details alarming allegations against a Boston fertility doctor, accusing him of impregnating a woman with his own sperm.
The woman, Sarah Depoian, said she didn’t find out about the alleged action until more than 40 years after it happened.
Speaking on Wednesday, Depoian said she is “still struggling to process it.”
Depoian is accusing Dr. Merle Berger in her lawsuit. She said she fully trusted Beger, saying “he was a medical professional.”
“It’s hard to imagine not trusting your own doctor,” she said.
“We never dreamt he would abuse his position of trust and perpetrate this extreme violation,” Depoian separately said.
According to the lawsuit, Depoian and her husband went to see Berger at his Dedham office in 1980 for help getting pregnant. They were told they would receive sperm from a medical resident. But, according to the lawsuit, Berger used his own instead.
Depoian, a Maine resident, gave birth to her daughter, Carolyn, in 1981.
Herself speaking about the allegations in the lawsuit, Carolyn said she “will always struggle with what Dr. Berger did to my mom and to us.”
Carolyn Bester said she did a home DNA test earlier this year through which she found she was biologically related to Berger’s granddaughter and second cousin.
“The test results didn’t show a direct match for my biological father,” Carolyn said. “But I identified two relatives who I learned were related to Dr. Berger.”
Carolyn said she spoke to one of the relatives and “started piecing it all together.”
Berger, who is now retired, is a founder of Boston IFV, which has locations nationwide.
Boston IVF released a statement in response to this lawsuit, saying in part, “This matter occurred more than 40 years ago which was prior to Dr. Berger’s employment at Boston IVF and, in fact, before our company existed.”
“We wish to highlight that the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility is much different than it was decades ago, and the safety measures and safeguards currently in place would make such allegations virtually impossible nowadays,” the statement continued.
Berger’s attorney also released a statement, saying the allegations have “no legal or factual merit and will be disproven in court.”
Depoian’s lawsuit was filed in federal court.
7NEWS learned there is a possibility a second lawsuit could be filed on behalf of Carolyn Bester.
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