Bernard Norman Barwin | |
|---|---|
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Occupation(s) | physician, medical professor |
| Years active | 1965-2019 |
| Known for | He was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1997, but resigned the award in 2013 after admitting to professional misconduct. |
Bernard Norman Barwin is a Canadian physician and medical professor. He was appointed to theOrder of Canada in 1997, but resigned the award in 2013 after admitting toprofessional misconduct.[1]
Barwin was born inSouth Africa to parents ofRussian andLithuanian background.[2] He is also ofAshkenazi Jewish descent.[3] Barwin and his wife left South Africa after he completed his first degree in 1962, in opposition to theSharpeville massacre.[2] He completed his medical training inBelfast, Northern Ireland.[2]
Barwin was director of the High Risk Pregnancy Clinic and co-director of theOttawa General Hospital's fertility clinic. He left in 1984 because he was not a certifiedgynaecologist in Canada. He would then establish his own clinic, though still licensed as a general physician.[4]
He was the Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at theUniversity of Ottawa. He was also one of the founding members ofFertility Self-Help Group (ISSG), which later became theInfertility Awareness Association of Canada. He also foundedCanadians for Choice and has been President since 2004. In addition, he was the President of the Canadian Fertility Society, thePlanned Parenthood Federation of Canada and Planned Parenthood Ottawa.[5]
In 1997, Barwin was appointed to theOrder of Canada for having a "profound impact on both the biological and psycho-social aspects ofwomen's reproductive health."[6] In 2009, he was awarded theHonorary degree ofDoctor of Laws fromCarleton University.[7]
In 1995, Loree-Ann Huard and Wanda Cowton sued Barwin for allegedly using the wrongsperm donor.[8] The couple and Barwin settled out of court in 1998.[8] In 2010, two former patients of Barwin brought lawsuits against him alleging that he had inseminated them with the wrong sperm.[8]
In January 2013, Barwin admitted to professional misconduct in regards to four women who wereartificially inseminated with the wrong sperm.[9][10][11] A panel of theCollege of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario found Barwin guilty of one of three counts of professional misconduct. They issued an official reprimand, revoked his license practice for two months, and ordered him to cover the $3,650 cost of the disciplinary proceedings.[4] A review of the incidents could find no "evident" reasons for the error.[4] He resigned from his appointment to theOrder of Canada and it was formally removed later that year.[6][12]
On 1 November 2016, former patients of Barwin brought aclass action against Barwin on behalf of his former patients and the children that Barwin helped conceive at his clinic, the Broadview Fertility Clinic.[13] The statement of claim alleged that Barwin used his own sperm when inseminating his patients.[13]
His medical licence was revoked by theCollege of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario in 2019.[14]
On 1 November 2021, a judge approved a $13 million dollar settlement against Barwin.[15]