The documentary, which is set to air on Netflix on October 15th, follows the lives of men and women who are related to one another through blood or adoption. The surprise of one sibling is startling enough but what if you discovered you had 94 brothers and sisters? That’s the reality for the men and women of Our Father.
Doctor Cline is the reason why these people have a family that is significantly larger than the national average. He used his own sperm to artificially inseminate a countless number of women during the 1970s and 80s. He told them the sperm came from medical residents at the nearby hospital but this was a blatant lie.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be lost.” This religious belief led to the Quiverfull movement, which advocated for large families. The documentary tries to explore this but there is no definitive answer.
A son is a blessing in one’s youth. Blessed are the fathers who have many sons. ..
In the documentary “The Cline Family,” it is suggested that Cline may have been driven by a need to create life because he had a distorted view of his faith. It is also possible that he was driven by his guilt after knocking down and killing a young girl when he was a young man.
Clline was eventually arrested for his crime and sentenced in court but he has never given a proper answer as to why he did what he did. The footage shown in the documentary, from interviews with people who were the offspring of the women he inseminated, makes it clear that Clline is hiding his true motives - which is as frustrating for the viewer as it is for the many people who were the offspring of the women he inseminated.
The documentary follows Ballard as she investigates her biological family and the events that led to her discovery. She is joined by other people who have also been affected by Cline’s actions, and they all share their outrage at what he has done.
The County Prosecutors’ office didn’t investigate Cline until after the siblings tried to bring his crimes to light. When the case eventually did go to court, not all of the evidence against him was admissible and the judge seemed to be sympathetic of the procreating doctor. As such, justice was never fully served. He left court with two suspended sentences (meaning he never went to jail) and a $500 fine.
The siblings and mothers of the Cline family are still waiting for justice more than a decade after their brother committed a heinous crime. They have waited long enough and they will continue to wait until the US government finally takes action on this issue.
The documentary is a powerful look at the Cline family and their struggles as they try to cope with the tragedy that befell them. It includes interviews with the siblings and Cline’s victims, as well as re-enacted footage of some of their experiences. However, it is often difficult to get past the level of salacious news story.
The Cline siblings’ story is told in a powerful and unique way by director Lucie Jourdan. despite some narrative flaws, the doc is still powerful and it does what I suppose director Lucie Jourdan intended, to bring the sibling’s stories, and their mothers, into the public spotlight.
The fact that Cline was able to get away with what he did for so long is shocking. Unfortunately, there have been cases of other doctors like him who, for whatever reason, have artificially inseminated women with their own sperm. We trust our doctors to care for and protect us. We don’t expect to discover they have intentionally harmed us. And we certainly don’t expect to discover our doctors are also our fathers!
Our Father is a documentary that is worth watching not only for the understanding it provides of the plight of the people featured in it, but also as a reminder that all of us should be mindful when seeking medical care. ..
