‘Our Father’ on Netflix: How Many Half Siblings That Donald Cline Fathered Are Known So Far?

Published 05/13/2022, 3:30 PM EDT

via Imago

Netflix just dropped another unsettling true crime documentary, Our Father, that turns the focus on illicit doctor inseminations. The documentary tells the story of Jacoba Ballard. She stumbled on the best-kept dark secret of Indianapolis’ fertility doctor, Donald Cline. 

While on a search to know more about her ancestry, she unveiled a secret that ruined her and most of her half-siblings’ lives. She and her half-siblings all shared one father – Doctor Cline. Recently, another match popped up right after the Netflix trailer dropped. So how many siblings from Our Father are there? 

How many more Our Father siblings are there?

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

In 2014, Jacoba Ballard was astonished to find seven matches when she used 23andMe to find her half-siblings. The numbers continued to grow as years passed by and the siblings realized Doctor Cline had swapped the donor sperms with his own to inseminate their mothers. When the doctor was brought to the court on trial in 2017, the number of Our Father siblings stood at 22. And now that the documentary has brought to light the unforgivable acts of the doctor, the numbers stand at 94 and counting. 

Most of the Cline siblings continue to stay in the same place and have to deal with the unpleasant truth. So far the documentary features Julie Harmon, Jacoba Ballard, Carrie Foster, Matt White, Heather Woock, Lisa Shepherd-Stidham, Alison Kramer, and Jason Hyatt. In 2019 a bill was passed that criminalizes illicit insemination in Indianapolis. 

DIVE DEEPER

‘Our Father’: What Motivated Donald Cline to Commit the Heinous Act of Wrongfully Impregnating His Patients?

over 2 years ago

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Where is Doctor Cline now?

Doctor Cline retired from his practice in 2009. When the siblings confronted him, he admitted to using his sperms but denied it at the Attorney General’s office. Upon further investigation, he had to pay a $500 fine in 2018. He received a 1-year probation sentence and his medical license was revoked.

Moreover, he justified his actions using biblical verses. And he continues to walk free. Since there is a lack of federal law in the US that would criminalize doctors using their own sperm for insemination without consent.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

You can stream the series on Netflix now.

DIVE DEEPER

‘Our Father’: What Is 23andMe and Ancestry That Helped Catch Donald Cline? Why Jacob Ballard Fears Christmas?

over 2 years ago

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

ADVERTISEMENT

Srabani Biswas

1105 articles

Srabani Biswas is a writer at Netflix Junkie. She is a sociology graduate from Lady Brabourne College. Previously, she has contributed to Sports India Show and The Sports Room as a sports writer, and interned at Ripples Learning.

ADVERTISEMENT

EDITORS' PICK