LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- "Creepy. Disturbing. Overwhelming."
A woman is suing a retired Louisville fertility doctor after finding out he's the father of her child. It took nearly 45 years for Susan Crowder to learn her fertility doctor used his own sperm to get her pregnant.
Susan Crowder
"I have a daughter over here who wasn't supposed to be inseminated by my doctor," Crowder said.
Crowder's daughter, who was born in 1976, knew she had been conceived by artificial insemination, so she took a DNA test three years ago. Those results led to something shocking.
"Then it all came to light when a young man with the last name of Yussman showed up as a relative," Crowder said.
Dr. Marvin Yussman, a retired physician in Louisville, ended up being a match.
For nearly 45 years, Crowder lived under the impression it was a medical student who donated the sample. That's what she had agreed to.
"I don't even know how someone could say, this wasn't unethical," Crowder said.
Dr. Marvin Yussman
Crowder eventually contacted the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.
In 2021, the board wrote a letter to Dr. Yussman stating in part, "The panel expresses concern that you did not disclose to the patient that you were a participating sperm donor to the insemination program."
Yussman responded in part, "on very rare occasions when the donor did not show and no frozen specimen was available, I used my own sperm if I otherwise would have been an appropriate donor."
Yussman admitted that it happened about a half dozen times.
Crowder says she has found at least 10 other women, but she thinks there is more.
"There's more than 10 out there," Crowder said. "I would bet my bottom dollar on it."
That letter goes on to say that Yussman is aware of three offspring, all of whom he said expressed gratitude. He concluded the letter by stating he would provide those names, but would only do so with their consent.
Susan Crowder and daughter.
Crowder is filing the suit under a new Kentucky law that sets criminal and civil penalties for fertility fraud. Crowder's attorney, Amy Wheatley, said this is the first such suit under the law, which Crowder lobbied for.
The lawsuit was filed against Dr. Marvin Yussman and the University of Louisville, his former employer.
"What I was trying to bring to the forefront was what a depraved and unconscionable act this is to do to your patients who trust you explicitly," Crowder said.
Crowder, who lives in Longmont, Colorado, advocated for the passage of Kentucky's Fraudulent Assisted Reproduction Law, which was signed by Gov. Andy Beshear earlier this year. Indiana and Colorado have recently passed laws, too.
Crowder, who is represented by Amy Wheatley of Stein Law in New Albany, is suing the doctor, seeking damages for fraud, negligence and malpractice. The suit was filed July 14 in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
"I hope somewhere along the line here he has to acknowledge that what he did has to have some accountability," Crowder said. "I just believe it does, and so far it's nothing."
A university spokesman previously said in an email statement that “we hold our health care professionals to the highest standards. While not illegal at the time, the doctor’s actions are not a practice we would condone then or now.”
Yussman hasn't responded to the lawsuit yet.
More information about pursuing a legal claim can be found here.
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