• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Parents Discover Daughter Is Not Related To Dad Three Decades After 'Mix Up'

Home> News

Published 09:42 4 Feb 2022 GMT

Parents Discover Daughter Is Not Related To Dad Three Decades After 'Mix Up'

Jeanine and Mike Harvey went to a fertility clinic in 1991 in the hope of starting a family

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

After 30 years, a dad has discovered that he is not in fact related to his daughter.

In 1991, Jeanine and John 'Mike' Harvey went to a fertility clinic at Akron City Hospital, Cleveland, in the hope of starting a family.

And they did. Following an IUI procedure - which involves sperm being placed directly in a patient's uterus - the pair became pregnant, welcoming a baby girl, Jessica, into the world in 1992.

Advert

However, three decades on, the couple have now discovered that Mike is not Jessica's dad.

They claim that someone else's sperm was used at the time and are now suing Dr Nicholas J Spirtos and Summa Health System, accusing the hospital of malpractice, fraud, and negligence.

Jeanine and Mike went to a fertility clinic in 1991.
Harvey Family

Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday (2 February), Jeanine said: "Our goal couldn't have been clearer, we wanted a child who is genetically related to both of us."

She went on: "Harvey girls were very rare in the family, so we were so excited.

Advert

"I screamed and scared the doctors half to death when she was born." 

It was only when Jeanine and Mike bought DNA tests for Jessica and her husband for Christmas back in 2020, that they realised something was wrong.

Jeanine and Mike with Jessica.
Harvey Family

They were heading on a trip to Europe and Jessica thought it would be an exciting way of tracing her family tree and potentially linking with distant relatives.

"How cool, we thought, it would be to connect with distant relatives in the countries that we might be visiting," said Jessica.

Advert

However, according to the lawsuit, it showed that while Jessica had links to her mother's side, there was no sign of her father's Italian heritage.

The complaint says: "Subsequent investigation revealed that her biological father is a man who, along with his wife, was undergoing fertility treatments with Dr. (Nicholas J.) Spirtos at Summa Akron City Hospital at the same time as the Harveys."

But despite the incredible amount of pain the apparent revelation has brought about for the family, Jeanine says nothing has changed in the way they feel about one another.

She added: "Mike's my husband. Jessica's our daughter. There's no DNA test that will change this.

Jessica says a DNA test showed she had no link to her dad.
Good Morning America

Advert

"We as a family hope that by sharing our family, putting our private lives out there in the public eye that we might be able to help others and prevent this from happening to them." 

In a statement to People, Mike Bernstein, system director of Corporate Communications for Summa Health System, said: "We are aware of an allegation that has been made claiming in 1991 a patient was artificially inseminated with the semen from a person who is not her husband.

"We take this allegation seriously and understand the impact this has on the family.

"At this point, we have not met with the family or conducted testing of our own. Given the very limited information that we have and the amount of time that has passed, it remains our hope that the attorneys representing the family will work with us to make that next step a priority."

LADbible has contacted Summa Health for a comment.

Featured Image Credit: Harvey Family

Topics: US News, Science, Weird

Dominic Smithers
Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

X

@SmithersDom

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
2 hours ago
  • an hour ago

    Donald Trump speaks out after Iran attacks on US airbases

    The US president posted on Truth Social

    News

    breaking

  • an hour ago

    NASA's Voyager 1 has just found a 50,000 Celsius 'wall of fire' at the edge of the solar system

    It's the furthest reaches of our solar system, but it helps protect us

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Everything we know about Iranian attack on US airbases in Qatar and Iraq as videos show missiles in the air

    The strikes from Iran follow the three from the US on Saturday (21 June)

    News
  • 2 hours ago

    Inside $2,100,000,000 US stealth bomber made of 'radar absorbing' material making it impossible to detect

    The US used six B-2 Spirit stealth bombers in their strikes on three targets in Iran

    News
  • Earth's crust beneath US is 'dripping' away, scientists discover
  • Scientists discover terrifying deep-sea creature after dropping camera to bottom of dark trench
  • Look-alike athletes who even share the same name took DNA test to see if they’re actually related
  • People left in shock after seeing all details of Donald Trump’s new $499 golden smartphone