SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A lawmaker from Peoria is introducing a bill that would make something he believes would be unthinkable, a felony offense.
State Senator Dave Koehler wants to make what’s called “fertility fraud” illegal. That’s when a medical professional uses their own reproductive cells during a fertility treatment, without consent.
Something like that happened to former Peoria resident Curt Richardson, now of Bloomington, albeit in another state.
“My parents and I, on the same day, found out as a result of an at-home DNA…test, that we were victims of fertility fraud,” said Richardson. He later found out that he has 85 half-siblings, thanks to a doctor in Indiana.
So what kind of doctor or medical professional would participate in something like that?
“I don’t think that there’s good intentions around that,” said Koehler (D-Peoria). “I think it’s a real sickness. It’s an over-inflated ego. It’s a lot of things that are very dark.”
Koehler says some states have less stringent laws about this than what he’s proposing. Under his bill, fertility fraud would be a Class-One felony on the first offense, and the most serious Class-X felony after that, along with fines, paying of damages, and prison time if convicted.
Senate Bill 4199 has yet to receive a committee assignment.
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