Indianapolis was home to Matt White and his parents, but after learning a big secret in his ancestry, everything changed for Matt and the state of Indiana forever.
An Anonymous Tip
Heather Woock was just packing for vacation when she received a strange Facebook message from a man named Matt White telling her that things were not as they seemed. Woock brushed it off as spam, but this was not the last she’d hear from Matt…
More Messages
The messages persisted. Woock’s phone broke while on vacation, so she didn’t read any of her new messages. It was only when she returned from her trip that she realized things were worse than they seemed.
One of Many
Though Heather was understandably unsettled by the unsolicited and unanswered messages, she was only one of 21 others who received similar inexplicable contact from the man.
Matt’s Messages
The messages were from Matt White, a local Indianapolis man who had recently realized that he and Heather were linked in a way they could have never anticipated…
An Ordinary Life
Matt White never felt anything about him was different. By all accounts, Matt was generally pretty normal. He had two loving parents, a wife, two children, and a stable career. There was only one strange thing about his life…
An Interesting Past
It seemed that the only thing really unique about Matt’s upbringing was his birth, which had been the result of an anonymous sperm donor. His parents were pretty open about the process, so Matt never thought much of it…
Medical Troubles
Matt’s parents had issues conceiving and used a donor service to help the process so that they’d eventually be able to biologically experience parenthood. It was almost too easy…
The Perfect Match
The service promised that the offices would match the potential mother with a sperm sample from a man who resembled her husband so that the child would grow up looking similar to the parents. Little did they know…
Easy Access
This artificial insemination process may sound unusual, but it’s actually grown increasingly common in the 21st century, as more and more parents try to have children from their own bloodline. Matt’s birth was different, but not unheard of…
Julie’s Story
Julie Harmon was another baby born as a result of this procedure. Her parents had gone through the same trials and tribulations as the White’s. Matt and Julie had never met and would never have had a reason to…
Donor Babies
Matt and Julie had always known about their status of being donor babies. After a while, they understood that their DNA resemble their mother’s and a stranger’s. It didn’t matter at the time…
A Missing Link
Their parents might not both be biological, but they were still the people who raised them. Still, a question always lingered in the back of their minds…who was their father? Could they ever find out?
Celebrity Sighting
Sperm banks often stress intense secrecy regarding the donors, and for this reason, both had pretty much resigned to the fact that they’d never know. It would just be an unsolved mystery. Until one day when Matt saw a face on TV that he recognized…
Striking Resemblance
The jawline, the hair, it all looked too familiar. On the screen, Matt was certain that he’d just seen his biological father. But who was this mystery man?
A Troubling Testimony
Matt was intrigued by the man, but there was a problem. The issue was the story the face appeared on. The man, Dr. Donald Cline, was under investigation for malpractice in his infertility clinic.
A New Legacy
Dr. Cline had been a savior for many potential parents in the late 70s and early 80s. Set up in Indianapolis, the specialist had serviced hundreds of families, but the service wasn’t what they expected…
Father Figure
According to the TV report Matt was watching, Dr. Cline was being investigated after a woman discovered he was her biological father. She was understandably upset and wanted Cline to pay for his crimes…
Jacoba’s Journey
The doctor had swapped out his own sperm with the supposed donor’s making the woman, Jacoba Ballard, his child. He did not tell her mother, and the family lived thinking that she was the child of a stranger. This was only the tip of the iceberg…
A New Family
Across the screen, White put the pieces together. Dr. Cline was familiar because he was looking at his own genetics. Quickly, White reached out to his new half-sister which would forever change the course of his life…
Connecting the Dots
Jacoba was ecstatic to meet her new half-brother, and the feeling was mutual. She introduced him to Julie Harmon, who had also figured out that Cline was her biological father…
Family Resemblance
Harmon had also seen the news report but saw her resemblance in her half-sister. The two traded photos and noticed the similarities. The instant of recognition was electric…
Starting Over
“I looked at pictures of her, and I knew,” said Harmon. “We even part our hair the same.” The trio felt excited to finally meet, but Matt was the most affected by the news…
His Own Perspective
Before the truth came out, Matt had his own problems with infertility. His two children were both conceived by donor insemination. He couldn’t help but imagine himself in his parent’s position. He was deeply impacted by the reveal but didn’t let this stop him from doing what was right…
Upcoming Trial
Matt, Jacoba, and Julie became a club, tied by their kinship and a strange set of circumstances. The three began to hang out and felt ready to protest what their father had done in court. Cline would finally go down for his wrongdoings, or so they thought…
Cline in the Courthouse
They rejoined in a courthouse weeks after meeting to face their father for the first time. Cline was going defend himself against the accusations, which he had admitted to after lying to the police previously, but the judge had an unexpected verdict…
Lawfully Done
The doctor was given a year-long suspension for his lies, but it was revealed that there was no law preventing Cline from using his own sperm for patients. It was unethical, but not illegal, so he walked free. This set everything into action…
More to Come
After court-mandated DNA tests, it was confirmed that Cline fathered Jacoba Ballard after her mother was a patient. He told Ballard and the court that he had used his own sperm on patients over 50 times. There were more out there…
Coming Forward
White, Harmon, and Ballard became close as they wrestled with identity in the wake of the hearing. They didn’t know what to do from here. Luckily, others decided for them, stepping forward as siblings…
Spreading the Word
The three decided that they had an ethical duty to tell Cline’s children about their identity. They reached out to 21 men and women all of whom are in their 30s and unaware of their true lineage. Using DNA mail-in kits, they were able to match many of the children, but there was more to do…
Growing The Family Tree
The three were able to find most of the siblings who were out there looking for more answers Among these were Kylene Gott and Amber Stafford. Though they were happy meeting their new siblings, there were still questions…
Missing Members
Namely, how many else are out there? White says that they contacted the 21 over the course of two years, but Cline admitted to using his own sperm at least 50 times, what would become of him?
Preventing the Problem
The discovery has led to new laws preventing fertility fraud. Indiana is the first state to pass such a law, saying that they’re taking a stand against cases like this. Hopefully, Cline’s case isn’t repeated in the future.