A Wisconsin woman and her son are suing a fertility doctor, alleging he used his own sperm to conceive their child nearly 45 years ago, a lawsuit filed August 6 states. Mary Ellen Lukezich, now 71, was a patient of Dr. Frederick Dettmann in 1982 when he recommended artificial insemination after other treatments failed.
According to the lawsuit, Dettmann told Lukezich that the donor would be an anonymous, healthy young medical student. However, the suit claims Dettmann instead used his own sperm, resulting in the birth of her son, Joseph Laedtke Heider, the following year. Heider is also a plaintiff in the suit.
In December 2024, Heider submitted his DNA to Ancestry.com, which he claims revealed a direct genetic link to Dr. Dettmann's family, establishing Dettmann as his biological father. The lawsuit states that upon tracing these connections, Heider identified nine other half-siblings allegedly fathered by Dettmann.
'The anonymous medical student donor that my mother was promised as my biological father never existed,' Heider said at a news conference, according to WISN. 'Instead, the DNA led back to one person. Doctor Frederick Dettmann, the very doctor my mom trusted to help her have a child.'
Their attorney, Al Foeckler, stated, "These families come to fertility doctors at their most hopeful and their most helpless time. Trusting completely in the physician who holds their dreams of parenthood in their hands. Dr Frederick Dettmann preyed on that desperation. He exploited that trust."
The lawsuit names the Wisconsin Health Care Liability Insurance Plan and ABC Insurance Co. as defendants. Dr. Dettmann, who is now 91 and retired, has denied any wrongdoing through his legal team. His statement indicates he has no independent recollection of the individuals or evidence supporting the claims, given the events allegedly occurred almost 50 years ago.
According to Whitefish Bay police records, Dettmann was accused of assaulting a woman during a genealogical exam in 1985. However, no charges were filed, with authorities deeming proof of the assault would be too difficult.
