Alleged 'Serial Sperm Donor' Doctor Accused Of Impregnating Several Patients

A Rochester fertility doctor who has been accused of artificially inseminating a number of his former patients is facing a civil lawsuit from the daughter of a woman he treated and allegedly impregnated.

The lawsuit, which alleges Dr. Morris Wortman artificially inseminated at least one woman at his private practice, was filed over the weekend in Monroe County. The case was brought forth by the Geneseo woman who was alerted by DNA testing that she had several half-siblings. 

The 35-year-old woman claimed Wortman told her parents that the sperm donor was a medical student studying at the University of Rochester. The gynecologist, who charged her $50 per insemination attempt, she alleged, advised her family that the sperm donor in question had no problematic medical history. According to the lawsuit, the unidentified victim’s mother was inseminated several times between January 1983 and 1985 until she became pregnant.

In 2016, the plaintiff reached out to Wortman in a bid to locate her biological dad; however, the OBG/GYN told her didn’t maintain active records for his patients. 

The woman later had DNA testing performed, at which point she learned she had six half-siblings who were donor-conceived and born between 1981 and 1985, according to the civil suit. The tests confirmed a 99.99 percent chance that one of the victim’s half-brothers and Wortman’s daughter are half-siblings, the Democrat and Chronicle reported.

The discovery, she claimed, triggered severe emotional distress. 

“With each half new sibling discovery, plaintiff experienced increased anxiety, migraine headaches, shock and confusion, feelings of despair, stress and other physical manifestations of continuing to learn that her donor father had been a serial sperm donor,” the lawsuit, obtained by WROC-TV, alleges. “Plaintiff also feared that there were other half-siblings who would continue to show up in her life.” 

The victim later went to Wortman after having her own gynecological issues. Between 2012 and 2021, he treated her, conducting transvaginal ultrasounds, pelvic exams, and emergency hospitalizations under sedation.

“No reasonable woman” would have sought out Wortman for treatment had they been aware he was their biological parent, the lawsuit states, going on to describe Wortman as a “serial sperm donor.”

The victim is seeking unspecified damages for the “significant emotional and psychological trauma, loss of enjoyment of life, monetary damages, conscious pain and suffering.”

“She will continue to suffer these damages for the rest of her life,” the lawsuit said.

Wortman is liable for all harm caused to the plaintiff, including “past and future economic damages, including past out of pocket medical expenses paid to him,” including “future expenses related to plaintiff’s mental health treatment and care suffered as a result of being defrauded,” court papers also state. 

Several other individuals, claiming to be the biological offspring of Wortman have come forward accusing the OB/GYN of using his own sperm to impregnate patients.

“We figured out it was Dr. Wortman right away,” Carl Lore, who suspects the fertility doctor impregnated his mother with his sperm, told WHAM-TV. 

Lore said that he’d lived the majority of his life under the assumption his father had died at the age of 36. Genetic testing revealed otherwise, he said.

“We all had him as our doctor...we all kind of look like this guy,” Lore added. “I don't know if you put my mug next to his, but it's close. We figured out it was him. We just didn't have any proof."

Lore's mother ultimately confessed Wortman was indeed his biological father after Lore confronted her; they’re also now suing Wortman on charges of malpractice and fraud. 

“It was extremely emotionally derailing,” Lore explained. “It set me back. It [sent] me to a very terrible place for a couple of years.”

Wortman operates the Center for Menstrual Disorders in Rochester. He wasn’t immediately available when contacted by Oxygen.com for comment on Wednesday.