How Could This Be Possible?
Pauline sits frozen in her tracks and her face goes as white as a ghost. She can feel her heartbeat in her throat, while panic creeps up her spine. The news she had just been told, a mere five minutes ago, had hit her like a ton of bricks.
She screams out in confusion and anger while questions flood her mind; how could this be possible? How could he get away with it? She looks at her stomach and a shiver runs up her spine. There was no coming back from this. No way.
Love At First Sight
Pauline Chambless and her husband first met when they were just teenagers. It was love at first sight, and soon enough the love-stricken couple got engaged and eventually became Mr. and Mrs. Chambless.
But despite their happiness, there was still something missing from their lives.
Wanting A Baby
For a decade, Pauline had tried to get pregnant. But despite all the effort, it seemed like maybe motherhood just wasn’t on the cards for Pauline. She had nephews and nieces that she adored, but she longed for her own child.
However, a stranger was about to come into Pauline’s life, and they were going to help her out. Or so she thought.
Dr. Kim McMorries
Pauline and her husband knew they were not going to be able to have a baby the “normal way,” so instead, they decided to turn to an expert.
That expert was Dr. Kim McMorries and everybody knew him as the doctor with a smile. He was friendly and caring. But underneath the fertility doctor's smile lay something seriously sinister.
The Best Of The Best
Pauline and her husband had faith in Dr. McMorries - he had been recommended by a few close friends and was by far the best fertility doctor around.
“There’s no way he would let us down,” Pauline thought to herself moments before walking into his office. But she had no idea what this doctor was secretly up to.
A Kind And Warm Man
As soon as Pauline and her husband met Dr. McMorries they knew they made the right decision. He was a kind and warm man with decades of experience.
Pauline filled in the necessary paperwork and before she knew it, she and her husband had a potential donor! Things were looking good for Pauline, but little did she know what was in store for her.
An Emotional Process
Pauline then underwent two and a half years of artificial insemination in hopes that she would get pregnant.
It was an emotional and grueling process, however, Pauline was adamant it would work. But she had no idea what was around the corner.
He Was Always There
Throughout the two and a half years of artificial insemination, Pauline fell pregnant a few times but ultimately lost the baby after six weeks.
Pauline was devasted. With every two steps she put forward, she felt she was going three steps backward. But though all the devastation this couple went through, Dr. McMorries was right there beside them. Watching, and waiting.
Pregnant At Last
Just when Pauline was about to give up on the idea of becoming a mother, she became pregnant! All that hard work, money time had finally paid off!
Pauline and her husband were over the moon. As was Dr. McMorries, in fact, he was even more excited than Pauline’s husband. Pauline thought things could only get better, but she was so wrong.
Giving Birth
9 months later, and Pauline went into labor at her local hospital, ready for her baby to born. During the birth, Pauline’s husband was there of course, but so was somebody else.
Dr. McMorries was right next to Pauline when she gave birth to her baby. Pauline just thought he was being a supportive doctor. But She had no idea what secret agenda he was hiding.
Baby Girl Called Jessica
Pauline’s baby girl, Jessica was born healthy and happy. Pauline and her husband knew that they didn’t want to keep secrets from Jessica.
They made sure to tell her when she was old enough, that she was conceived with the help of a donor. Finally, this family was complete. Nothing could go wrong. Or so they thought.
33 Years Later
Pauline's daughter Jessica had always wondered who her father was. She wasn’t sad about it, or angry, you see she loved her parents, but the question still lingered in the back of her mind.
And so, the decades went by, and now, 33-year-old Jessica thought it was time for the truth. She set on a hunt to find her biological father. But what she found changed her life forever.
DNA Test
Jessica took a DNA test and a few weeks passed and she received the good news that she had a match! She went over to her mother Pauline’s house to share the good news.
Jessica found out that she had three half-siblings: two sisters and a brother. She quickly got in touch with her new siblings, while wondering what else she would uncover. But Jessica never could have expected what she would soon find out.
Speaking To Her Half-Sister
Jessica was around her mother Paulin’s house when she received a call from her long lost half-sister Eve. Excited but nervous, Jessica answered wondering what her new sister had to say.
At first, there was casual small talk, but what Eve told Jessica next, left her feeling sick to her stomach.
Did You Know Dr. McMorries?
“Do you know the details of our birth story?” Eve asked Jessica. “Was Dr. McMorries your mom’s doctor?”
When Jessica heard Eve say the doctor's name, she felt confused. As did Pauline who was listening to the conversation. How did Eve know his name? What Eve was about to reveal to Jessica was going to tear her world in two.
Sick To Their Stomachs
“I’m sorry to say this Jessica,” Eve said, her voice sounding sad and quiet, “but that doctor is also our biological father.”
The words hit Jessica like a ton of bricks. How was that possible? Pauline, who was listening to the conversation, was equally as lost speechless. She screamed out “what?” before realizing what exactly that doctor had done to her.
This Was Not A Nightmare
“It’s impossible” Pauline shouted out. “I never would have agreed for the doctor to do that,” she proclaimed to her daughter. She felt like she was in a nightmare.
But unfortunately, this was not a nightmare it was her reality. Pauline had been a victim of "fertility fraud."
Fertility Fraud
Fertility fraud is when a doctor knowingly uses his own sperm to inseminate a female patient without her consent.
When Jessica and Pauline discovered this, they knew they had to make him pay. He wasn’t going to get away with it. No way.
His Response
After confronting Dr. McMorries, he responded to his new daughter and ex-patient with a letter that left this sickened mother and daughter duo even more angry.
He explained that he had purposely mixed his own sperm with other donors. The reason why? To improve the mother’s chances of getting pregnant. But Pauline never consented to this, so how was it legal?
Taking It To Court
There were blurred lines when it came to the legality of what Dr. McMorries did. And unfortunately, he got away with it.
But in April 2019 Eve Wiley, Jessicas’s half-sister and secret daughter of Dr. McMorries testified to a Senate panel. The following September, it became an illegal assault for a doctor to use sperm from an unofficial donor. But how would Pauline and Jessica live the rest of their lives having just uncovered this harrowing secret?
No Regrets
Both Jessica and Pauline felt sick to their stomach the moment the truth came out. Pauline never could have imagined a doctor doing something like that.
Despite the horror and shock they endured, the mother and daughter duo don’t have any regrets. Pauline, in particular was grateful for the fact she had her beautiful daughter Jessica. And that triumphed everything.