Nov 13, 2009 2:05 pm US/Eastern
Fertility Doc Denies Being Father In Sperm Mishap
Dr. Ben Ramaley Accused Of Artificially Inseminating Woman With Own Sperm Instead Of Her Husband's
SOUTHPORT, Conn. (CBS) ―
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Human sperm seen under a microscope. (File)
AP
The Connecticut fertility doctor who admitted he inseminated a woman with the wrong man's sperm is now under investigation by the state's attorney general.
Dr. Ben Ramaley of Greenwich admitted in a 2005 lawsuit that he used the wrong sperm to impregnate a patient in 2002. Because of a gag order, neither he nor his staff is talking.
According to court documents, the patient noticed something was amiss when her twin girls were born, saying she was "surprised at the very fair complexion of the twins," because the father is African-American and the mother is Caucasian. It's a reaction anyone could understand.
"I'd be shocked if my baby came out white when it was supposed to be black," one Greenwich resident told CBS 2.
DNA testing proved the woman's husband was not the father, but even though the case was settled and the doctor paid a $10,000 fine, the Public Health Department and the Connecticut Attorney General's office are looking into how this happened, and whether Ramaley substituted his own sperm for that of the woman's husband.
"There was an error made, and this woman was impregnated with sperm that was unfortunately not her husband's, but not Dr. Ramaley's," said Steven Errante, Ramaley's attorney.
But Ramaley has yet to take a DNA test to prove that.
Have You Ever Been A Patient Of Dr. Ramaley? Contact Us Here.
"First there was the civil case and the couple could have asked the judge while the case was ongoing to order a DNA test, but that case settled and so that disposed of it," said CBS Legal Analyst Lisa Bloom. "Then the Department of Public Health came in. Under my reading of their rules, they did have the authority to order the DNA test, and they simply failed to do so."
If the state attorney general opens a criminal case, a DNA test could be ordered.
The Department of Health originally concluded this was a case of mislabeling, but they are continuing to look into it. Part of the 2008 settlement involved Ramaley agreeing to stop performing artificial inseminations.
He also forfeited his New York medical license because of the same case.
Dr. Ramaley practices at Southport Women's Healthcare in Fairfield, Conn. and co-founded Brookside Greenwich Ob-Gyn Associates in Greenwich.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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