Mass. doctor ‘surreptitiously inserted’ his own sperm into IVF patient, lawsuit alleges

BOSTON — A longtime Massachusetts doctor has been sued by a former patient who alleges in a newly filed lawsuit that he secretly fathered her daughter after he “surreptitiously” inserted his sperm into her instead of a donor’s as she underwent an In vitro fertilization treatment more than 40 years ago.

Dr. Merle Berger, who has homes in Boston and on Martha’s Vineyard, “covered up his egregious misconduct” and “took steps to prevent” Sarah Depoian, of Cumberland County, Maine, from filing legal claims against him following the alleged incident in 1980, according to a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Massachusetts.

Depoian and her husband visited Beger for assistance with conceiving a child because Depoian husband’s sperm couldn’t be used, and Berger “promised to perform an insemination using the sperm of a medical resident who resembled her husband,” the lawsuit indicated.

The couple then paid a “significant amount of money” for the fertility treatment Berger provided to her.

“We fully trusted the doctor,” Depoian said. “He was a medical professional. It’s hard to imagine not trusting your own doctor.”

It wasn’t until recently that Depoian discovered that Berger didn’t use the sperm from the medical resident as he promised, instead inserting his own into her body, the lawsuit states.

“Depoian, like all patients, had a right to know what was being inserted into her body. She also had a right to refuse the insertion of sperm into her body to which she did not consent. She also had a right to refuse the insertion of sperm into her body to which she did not consent,” the complaint read. “Berger’s misconduct was not a mistake: Rather, to engage in the actions discussed in this lawsuit, Berger needed to masturbate in his medical office, walk over to his patient while carrying his sperm, and then deliberately insert that sperm into his patient’s body -- all while knowing that she did not consent to his sperm entering her body.”

The lawsuit further alleges that Berger “covered up his deeply disturbing conduct,” despite having “multiple opportunities to be honest with Depoian.”

Berger went on to become a prominent fertility doctor, launching one of the nation’s largest fertility clinics, Boston IVF. He was also an associate clinical professor at Harvard Medical School.

Depoian’s 42-year-old daughter, Carolyn Bester, purchased a DNA kit from Ancestry.com and 23andME.com in late 2022 to learn more about her family history, but the results that were sent to her in early 2023 didn’t yield a direct result for the biological father, according to the lawsuit.

“Her [Depoian’s] daughter was intrigued by the fact that it listed numerous people to whom she is related on her father’s side of the family. Among those to whom she is related are Beckett Childs and Mindi Kleinman,” the lawsuit states. Depoian’s daughter subsequently found out that Beckett Childs is Dr. Berger’s granddaughter and Mindi Kleinman is Dr. Berger’s second cousin. After speaking with one of her newfound relatives, Carolyn pieced together that Berger is her biological father.”

“To say I was shocked when I figured this out would be an extreme understatement,” Bester said. “It feels like reality has shifted.”

After Depoian discussed the DNA results with her daughter, she later contacted Berger’s counsel and notified him of her intent to sue him for “fraudulent concealment.”

Depoian is also suing Berger for “intentional misrepresentation,” a count that stems from a second IVF consultation that he had with her three years later.

In early 1983, Depoian asked to have a second child with the same sperm donor but Berger allegedly told an intentional lie, “falsely claiming that he did not know the identity of the sperm donor that led to the first pregnancy.”

“This was a lie that Berger purposefully told to cover up his misconduct and prevent Depoian from taking legal action against him,” the lawsuit states.

Since learning of Berger’s alleged actions, Depoian’s attorneys say she has suffered from “significant mental anguish, anxiety, stress from physical violations, and sleep disturbances including nightmares.”

In a statement, Berger’s attorney stated that the allegations against his client “have no legal or factual merit, and will be disproven in court.”

“Dr. Merle Berger was a pioneer in the medical fertility field who in 50 years of practice helped thousands of families fulfill their dreams of having a child. He is widely known for his sensitivity to the emotional anguish of the women who came to him for help conceiving,” the statement read. “The allegations concern events from over 40 years ago, in the early days of artificial insemination. At a time before sperm banks and IVF, it was dramatically different from modern-day fertility treatment. The allegations, which have changed repeatedly in the six months since the plaintiff’s attorney first contacted Dr. Berger, have no legal or factual merit and will be disproven in court.”

Boston IVF also released a statement on the lawsuit, making it clear that the alleged incident happened before Berger’s employment.

“This matter occurred more than 40 years ago which was prior to Dr. Berger’s employment at Boston IVF and, in fact, before our company existed. We wish to highlight that the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility is much different than it was decades ago, and the safety measures and safeguards currently in place would make such allegations virtually impossible nowadays,” a company spokesperson said. “Patients should be assured that our field continues to uphold the most rigorous ethical and medical standards.”

Depoian is demanding Berger appear in court for a jury trial and she’s also seeking an array of monetary damages.

Read the full lawsuit below:

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2023 Cox Media Group