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Wednesday September 15, 2010


Abortion Activist MD Sued for Inseminating Wrong Sperm

By Patrick B. Craine

OTTAWA, Ontario, September 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A leading Canadian pro-abortion activist who runs a fertility centre has been accused by two families of using the wrong sperm when their children were conceived in 2005 and 2007, respectively. In a suit lodged with the Ontario Superior Court, they even ask for a DNA test of the man, Norman Barwin, to determine if he used his own sperm.

Barwin and his Ottawa facility, Broadview Fertility Clinic, are facing two lawsuits alleging the two children are not biologically related to the men who were meant to be the sperm donors.

Both suits ask the court to mandate that Barwin be tested “to conclusively rule out the possibility that he is the donor whose sperm was used.” Together the families are seeking $3 million in damages.

The families’ lawyer, Pam MacEachern, told the National Post that she is looking into whether other clients of Barwin were affected, noting the alleged incidents occurred two years apart. “The fact that it happened to two people a couple of years apart in very similar circumstances gives us a lot of concern,” she said. “We believe that there’s a good basis to believe that it probably has happened to other people.”

Barwin’s lawyer, Karen Hamway, told LifeSiteNews that Barwin is denying the allegations, which have not been proven in court, but will not comment further due to “patient confidentiality.” Barwin has asked the judge to dismiss the case.

Barwin is described by pro-life advocates in Ottawa as one of their leading opponents, alongside Henry Morgentaler. He is the former head of Planned Parenthood Canada and Planned Parenthood of Ottawa, and continues to serve as the founding president of Canadians for Choice.

A South African native, he arrived in Ottawa in 1973 and launched his fertility centre in the 1980s. He specialized in gynaecology, but never became certified as a gynaecologist in Canada after failing the exam.

Barwin faced embarrassment in 2001 after he was caught cheating in a marathon for the second year in a row. He reportedly placed first in his age category at the 2001 Ottawa marathon by using a car. When caught at the 2000 Boston marathon, he initially denied cheating, but later claimed he had dropped out due to a hernia and wanted to join in at the end.

He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1997 for his contributions to “reproductive health.”


See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Famed Canadian Abortion Promoter Caught Cheating in Marathon – Again

https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/nov/02111801.html

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