Netflix tip of the day: Our Father

I had already read a thing or two about this story on the internet when it was happening, and even then I found it to be a completely crazy, sick story. And it could happen to you... When I saw Our Father on Netflix, I immediately knew that this would tell the story of Dr. Donald Cline: a fertility doctor who inseminated his patients, without them knowing, with his own sperm. This came to light when Jacoba Ballard, one of his many children, became curious about her roots. She knew she was adopted, so she was wondering if she might have half-sisters or -brothers.

In America, it is established that a donor's sperm can be used a maximum of three times, so Jacoba could at most find two brothers or sisters. But to her shock, she saw seven, and then she couldn't know how alarmingly many more there would be.

It is now clear that there are at least 50 children running around from Dr. Donald Cline, but that number could be much higher. An incredibly fascinating documentary, but also heartbreaking: many couples did not know that the sperm of Dr. Donald Cline was being used. So a father also found out that his daughter, who was already an adult, was biologically not his.

Something different than the bloody true crime documentaries about murderers, but at least just as grim.

Image: Netflix