It’s a day that’s been a long time coming for Summer McKesson.
Two years ago, after a terrifying brush with a rare genetic condition, McKesson decided to do a deep dive into her own DNA.
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To her shock, she says a test showed that her biological dad was, in fact, the late Duke University Fertility Doctor Charles Peete. She also had dozens of other half-siblings, mostly in North Carolina.
Her mother, a Fayetteville resident, had gone to Peete for fertility treatments decades ago. The results seemed to show that Peete had used his own sperm in the procedures again and again, without permission.
Now, that shock has turned into action.
On Wednesday, North Carolina State Senator Natalie Murdock, a Democrat who represents parts of Durham and Chatham Counties, filed a bill that would bar fertility doctors from using their own sperm without patient consent, and would allow parents and children to sue both the doctor and hospital. Victims could be awarded $50,000, plus the cost of the insemination procedure and attorneys’ fees.
“It's a chance for people to create some accountability, and for the victims to just feel like they're being heard and listened to,” McKesson said.
According to Indiana University Professor of Law Jody Madeira, who helped draft the bill, at least 15 other states already have laws like this on the books. Several others have legislation pending.
“Really, this is a moving tide,” Madeira said.
Duke Health officials confirmed they’re now reviewing the bill.
In a statement, the officials wrote in part, “Patient knowledge and consent are fundamental to any fertility treatment. The use of a provider’s own reproductive cells without a patient’s explicit consent is unethical and unacceptable.”
The bill has a very long way to go to become law, during what promises to be a very busy short session.
Currently, Sen. Murdock is the bill’s lone sponsor in a chamber controlled by Republicans. WRAL reached out to Republican Senate Leader Phil Berger for comment on the bill. Berger hasn’t responded.
Notably, the bill only includes civil penalties for a doctor caught breaking the rules.
“Implicitly, many states already have fraud laws that would have covered this conduct if we had only known it was occurring at the time,” Madeira said. “But you have to catch it within a certain period of time, basically within the statute of limitations.”
Instead, the bill opens the door for victims to hold doctors and institutions accountable within five years of discovering the fraud.
“I'm glad that we at least have a path forward. I know there are more steps to take, but this is our first one,” McKesson said.