IVF Scandal

Sometimes the in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics with the best success rates have the shadiest ethics. A scandal in Brazil is a case in point. That country’s most famous IVF doctor is running from police after being convicted of sexually assaulting or raping 39 female patients between 1995 and 2008. After Roger Abdelmassih, 67, received a 278-year prison sentence, he fled–apparently to Lebanon—while awaiting his appeal.

Abdelmassih helped the soccer legend Pele father a child and is self-described as “internationally renowned.” He claimed to have a 50% IVF success rate with women under 35. That’s about twice the best rate of other South American clinics, which ought to raise eyebrows.

The Brazilian news magazine Epoca investigated, and they assert that many of the babies that the doctor’s patients conceived may not be their biological children. DNA tests have already confirmed that three children born with the doctor’s assistance were conceived by mixing gametes of one of the parents with that of a donor while leaving the couple to think they were conceiving with gametes of both husband and wife.

Epoca tells the story of one couple in which the wife conceived following IVF. But the husband was suspicious, so he insisted on DNA tests. The enraged doctor gave the woman abortion pills. The pregnancy, however, made it to term and twins were born. The DNA test indeed confirmed that the twins were not the biological children of the father. Abdelmassih made an out-of-court settlement for $600,000, but the couple ended up splitting up.