Parents’ and Offspring’s Experience of Insemination Fraud: A Qualitative Study

Donor-Linked Families in the Digital Age: Relatedness and Regulation, pp. 85-102, Cambridge University Press (2023)
Published on July 12, 2023

Chapter authors: Sabrina Zeghiche, Isabel Côté, Marie-Christine Williams-Plouffe, & Renée-Pier Trottier-Cyr

Pages: 85-102

Book title: Donor-Linked Families in the Digital Age: Relatedness and Regulation

Book editors: Fiona Kelly, Deborah Dempsey, & Adrienne Byrt

Published online: July 2023

The experience of families who resort to donor sperm conception has been rather well documented. However, how this experience unfolds in the context of insemination fraud is for the most part still unknown. The focus so far has been on the ethical principles this fraud violates and the reasons why it has not been criminally charged. This chapter presents the results of an exploratory qualitative study carried out with 13 Canadian participants who were victims of insemination fraud. With a focus on the experience of the discovery of the insemination fraud by parents and donor-conceived offspring, this chapter discusses the trajectory of this discovery, the emotions associated with it, and its disclosure to minor children. Although the experience varies according to the nature of the fraud, and the circumstances of its discovery, common patterns can be observed: shock, sideration and disbelief, feelings of being betrayed by the medical institution.

How to cite this publication

Zeghiche, S., Côté, I., Williams-Plouffe, M.-C., & Trottier-Cyr, R.-P. (2023). Parents’ and Offspring’s Experience of Insemination Fraud: A Qualitative Study. In D. Dempsey et F. Kelly (Eds.), Donor-Linked Families in the Digital Age: Relatedness and Regulation (pp. 85-102). Cambridge University Press.

  • Sabrina Zeghiche

    Professor in the department of social work at Université du Québec en Outaouais
  • Isabel Côté

    Professor in the department of social work at Université du Québec en Outaouais
  • Marie-Christine Williams-Plouffe

    Coordinator of the Canada Research Chair in Third-Party Reproduction and Family Ties

Project

  • Drifts in Donor Conception and Their Impacts on Life Trajectories

Related content

  • OK – Insemination fraud: a form of trivialized violence

    DRIFTS Research Team (2025)
  • OK – Uncovering the fraud: the reshuffling of genetic ties

    DRIFTS Research Team (2025)
  • ‘Once you open that Pandora’s Box, you cannot close it’: a qualitative study on family relationships following insemination fraud

    Reproductive BioMedicine Online (2023)
  • Dons de sperme: les «enfants du Dr Barwin» sous la loupe

    Antoine Trépanier dans Le Droit (2022)
  • Crédit : Radio-Canada

    Fertilité et trahisons

    Découverte (2024)