Who's yer Daddy?
The making of Jar babies? What could go wrong…
A woman's 23andMe kit revealed her biological father is a retired doctor who used his sperm in her mom's fertility treatment, lawsuit claims
Roberta Voss got a 23andMe DNA kit to learn more about herself, but instead discovered that her biological father is a now-retired doctor who used his own sperm in Voss's mother's fertility treatment without consent, a lawsuit filed in New York on Tuesday alleges.
A lawyer representing the doctor says the claims are "unsubstantiated."
Voss, now a mom in her mid-30s, took the test in 2020. She says it told her Dr. Martin D. Greenberg, who used to run a fertility practice in Manhattan and was also registered with 23andMe, was unequivocally her biological father.
Seeing a picture of Greenberg, who's now retired and living near Miami, Florida, confirmed it, Voss said Tuesday during a press conference.
"I was shocked and I was disgusted," she said. "The worst part was when I saw the doctor's face and I recognized myself. I see his face every time I look in the mirror."
Her mother, Bianca Voss, was shocked too. She'd sought IVF when living on Manhattan's Upper West Side back in 1983 because she wanted to be a mother and her partner had undergone a vasectomy. After doing some research, she said she settled on Dr. Greenberg as her physician and paid him $100 to procure sperm from an anonymous donor.
After Roberta was born in 1984, Bianca put the details of her conception out of mind. But when Roberta came to her with the 23andMe results last year, "it all came flooding back," Bianca said during the press conference.
"How terrible this is for Roberta and for my grandson," Bianca said she thought. "I hate they have to live with the fact that their biological father and grandfather is a medical rapist."
She had trouble reckoning with herself, too. "How could I have picked such a criminal and immoral physician who would do such an awful thing to me?" she said. "This whole thing has upended my life and my family's. The damage it's doing and the emotional scars it's creating for me and them I fear will have lasting effects."
Bianca, who's now in her mid-70s and lives in New Jersey, said she filed the lawsuit to hold Greenberg accountable and help prevent the same thing from happening to other families.
Barry Postman, Greenberg's counsel, told Insider by email that the doctor "dedicated his professional life helping parents bring children into this world when the thought of having families was only a dream."
He said Greenberg is unaware of any record that he was ever involved in Voss's care. He called the claims "unsubstantiated," and emphasized how long ago the alleged events occurred. "Moreover, it is my understanding that Ms. Voss' daughter is living a healthy, productive life," he said.
23andMe didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/womans-23andme-kit-revealed-her-204941204.html