Perspective: Former Ottawa fertility doctor impregnated 2 women with his own sperm, lawsuit alleges

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/ottawa/norman-barwin-sperm-class-action-lawsuit-1.3832572

Commentary

A Web of Deciet

There are ethical questions here … Dr. Barwin was in a position of utmost trust and he betrayed this trust. Patients/clients pay for a service and did not get that service as contracted.

There was a corrupt delivery of service. It was partial and lacked integrity.

It was a web of deciet of no mean order.

It was also a breach of contract. Breaching contracts do have consequences. There was no full disclosure on the part of the doctor. It was likely the agreement in this case, that the sperm to be donated would be reasonably expected from an unknown donor … this did not happen.

When in a position of trust and power integrity should be robust.

There should be an attempt at an out of court settlement. Life was delivered but not from the source expected.

Restorative Justice

There can be mitigating circumstances which would have to be taken into consideration as part of any amicable settlement.

This is a tragedy for all parties. Restorative Justice could help to solve this thorny issue. In the end it could serve to be a win win for all parties.

What a tangled web!  Is it much ado about nothing?

The verdict is yours, as usual.

Hopeton O’Connor-Dennie is Senior International Correspondent & Photojournalist for Vision Newspaper Canada.

Photo from www.cbc.ca