Cecil+Jacobson

Cecil Jacobson

** An Innocent Beginning **  Cecil Byran Jacobson was born on October 2, 1936 in Salt Lake City Utah, (Wikipedia 2011). Jacobson began his career working as a researcher and Chief of the Reproductive Genetics Unit at George Washington University Medical School (Wikipedia 2011). He also worked as a professor teaching courses at George Washington University, (Economist 1992). While conducting research in the Reproductive and Genetics Unit, he claimed that he had impregnated a male baboon by planting a fertilized egg from a female baboon into the male’s abdominal cavity, only to terminate the pregnancy himself after four months. However, this research was never recorded in any scientific publications, (Wikipedia 2011).

Jacobson continued studying in the field of fertility which met him with several other notable accomplishments. Working to further knowledge in the field, Jacobson was renowned as a prominent infertility specialist who introduced amniocentesis in the US to diagnosis defects in unborn babies, (Time 1992). Jacobson was recognized for his many discoveries in the field, most distinctively his discovery that the procedure of amniocentesis could indicate the presence of Down’s syndrome in a fetus, and as a result was noted as one of the most honored physicians of the period, (Gaskin, 1995). Consequently, Jacobson’s success in the field helped him develop an unquestioned and distinguished reputation.

** Reproductive Genetics Inc. ** Despite the fact that Cecil Jacobson was not an obstetrician he went on to operate his own fertility clinic in Vienna, Virginia from 1976-1988, (New York Times, 1993). His clinic was not affiliated with a designated hospital or university meaning that his practice was accountable only to the state board of medicine; requiring only that he renew his medical license, (Gaskin, 1995). During this time, Jacobson was given the coveted Josiah Macy Fellowship in Obstetrics and also served two terms on President Nixon’s Committee on Mental Retardation, (Gaskin 1995). Many obstetricians in the Washington DC area frequently referred patients with fertility problems to Jacobson’s Clinic, (Gaskin 1995). Under his fertility clinic called “Reproductive Genetics Inc.,” Jacobson practiced treatments such as administering injections of Human Chorionic Gonadatropin (HCG) and artificial insemination (Grothaus, 2005). After opening his clinic, thousands of women made appointments with “the man who could get you pregnant when no one else could,” (Gaskin, 1995).

Unfortunately, thanks to his overwhelming renown in the Medical community in combination with his prestigious background in research, and referrals from other physicians, Jacobson’s medical practices were never questioned by those who attended his clinic. Despite his lack of affiliation with neither hospital nor university, and lack of obstetrician background, Jacobson experienced an incredible amount of success as a fertility doctor, while it lasted.

** About the HCG Hormone **   The main infertility treatment that Cecil Jacobson specialized in was injecting infertile patients with Human Chorionic Gonadatrophin. This drug was used as a way of stimulating ovulation in infertile women, (Grothaus 2005). Several side effects of the drug, such as false positives on pregnancy tests, and symptoms similar to those of actually being pregnant were not shared with the innocent women whom Jacobson injected with the drug, (Gaskin 1995). Patients did not question the injections’ side effects as they thought they were a sign of pregnancy, and were never informed of these side effects by their physician, who was selectively omitting this information from them. Injecting patients with small amounts of the HCG hormone is an accepted medical practice, but evidence later revealed that Dr. Jacobson overexposed his patients by requiring them to attend multiple costly appointments, (Grothaus 2005).

Sadly, Jacobson preyed on the innocence and desperation of infertile women leading them on to believe that they were indeed pregnant for as long as twenty to twenty three weeks. During this time he would falsify pregnancy tests, perform ultrasounds, and point out non-existent fetuses on sonograms to unsuspecting women, (Gaskin 1995). After leading these women along for all of this time Jacobson would simply tell women that they had miscarried when their pregnancies failed to progress, and stop treatment all together, (Economist 1992).

** From Helpful to Hurtful ** Many men are as infertile as women, and as a result, artificial insemination is a very common practice among fertility doctors, (Economist 1992). During this procedure, women are injected with semen from anonymous donors; the sperm of one donor never being used for more than ten successful pregnancies to limit the number of half-brothers and sisters unknowingly marrying each other, (Economist, 1992). There is nothing unethical about artificial insemination, except for when the sperm being used to impregnate patients is that of their own physician. DNA tests linked Jacobson to at least 15 such children, and it has been suspected that he fathered as many as 75 children by impregnating patients with his own sperm, (Elmer-DeWitt, 1991).

** Communication is at Fault ** Due to a lack of communication and ethical practice on behalf of Doctor Jacobson, many women were unknowingly taken advantage of. Discussion of sexual health between patients and their providers is difficult enough, and if a Physician such as Cecil Jacobson convinced women that they were in the right place for care, they did not bother to question his practices. While women are more likely than males to discuss sexual health whit their provider, several factors such as the gender of their physician can influence their likelihood to open up concerning sexual issues, (Bond, 2011). Discussing sexual health issues is a very uncomfortable situation for everyone involved, both physician and patient, and most patients will just listen to what their provider has to say rather than bring up their own issues, (Bond, 2011). In the case of Cecil Jacobson, this would involve patients questioning side effects of a particular practice, or questioning the source of the sperm used for their impregnation for example. The time frame that Cecil Jacobson’s infractions occurred in, prior to the 1990’s, probably also played a role in the lack of clarity and communication between his patients and their trusted, critically acclaimed physician. Patients now, over two decades later, are just beginning to understand their rights and the importance of open communication with their provider.

** Punishment ** After referring to himself proudly as “the babymaker,” daunting claims that “God doesn’t give you babies, I do,” (Elmer-Dewitt, 1991) and despite varying outcomes, many of Cecil Jacobson’s patients started to suspect that something was not right with his practice. Beginning in 1989, suspicious former patients tipped off local news sources about their false pregnancies, and several former patients sued Jacobson, (Wikipedia, 2011). The investigation of the false pregnancies also led to discovery that Jacobson had indeed been using his own sperm to impregnate female patients, after records proved that there was indeed no “sperm donor” program in place in his practice, (Wikipedia 2011). Dr. Jacobson indeed admitted to impregnating many of his patients with his own sperm, (Grothaus, 2005). Jacobson stood by his claim that, “it’s a shock to be found guilty of trying to help people,” (Time, 1992). Jacobson was convicted in March 1992 on fifty-two counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, travel fraud, and perjury, sentenced to five years in prison, and ordered to pay $116,805 in fines and restitution, (New York Times, 1993).

Unfortunately in the field of fertility at the time of Jacobson’s practice there was no board certification required and little regulation, (Elmer-DeWitt, 1991). It seems that Jacobson got caught up in trying to help his patients and forgot about the ethics of what he was doing, a dangerous and heinous crime to commit indeed.

** References ** Bond, B. (2011, April 6). Importance of Patient Provider Communication. Sexual Communication Spring 2011 Unit Three presented at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Cecil Jacobson [Wikipedia Entry]. (2011, April 7). Retrieved April 9, 2011, from <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Jacobson

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Cutting out the middle man. (1992). Economist, 322(7740), 27. Retrieved from <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">EBSCOhost.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Conviction Upheld in Fertility Case. (1993, September 8). The New York Times. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Retrieved from http://query.nytimes.com

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Elmer-DeWitt, P. P., & Thompson, D. D. (1991). The cruelest kind of fraud. Time, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">138(22), 27. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Gaskin, I. (1995). The Baby Maker: Fertility Fraud and The Fall of Dr. Cecil Jacobson. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Birth Gazette, 11(3), 40. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Grothaus-Day, C. (2005). Criminal Conception: Behind the White Coat. Family Law <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">Quarterly, 39(3), 707-725. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">What's up, doc?. (1992). Time, 139(11), 33. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.