EX-SECRETARY TAKES STAND AGAINST DOCTOR

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 15, 1992                   TAG: 9202150269
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A6   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ALEXANDRIA                                LENGTH: Medium
EX-SECRETARY TAKES STAND AGAINST DOCTOR
A former secretary for an infertility doctor accused of artificially inseminating women with his own sperm testified Friday that she routinely saw him going to the restroom with a vial shortly before such insemination occurred.
Nancy Whitten, who worked for Dr. Cecil Jacobson from December 1980 to May 1982, said she never saw any indication of sperm donors' visiting Jacobson's office. She said that routinely in the afternoon before insemination appointments, "I would observe him going to take the vial and going to the restroom."
She said this usually happened twice a week.
Jacobson, who faces 52 counts of fraud and perjury, is accused of using his own sperm to father up to 75 children with his patients while claiming the sperm came from an anonymous donor program. He also is accused of using hormone injections to trick other women into believing they were pregnant.
Dr. Glenn D. Braunstein, a medical professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, testified and accused Jacobson of deceiving his patients. Braunstein said he found it impossible to believe that Jacobson would not know that the injections would trigger a positive pregnancy test.
"This was a purposeful pattern of deceit on these women," Braunstein said. "He was tricking people into thinking they were pregnant when they were not. To me, it's beyond belief."
Also Friday, an obstetrician testified that he had told Jacobson 10 years ago that he disapproved of Jacobson's methods.
"I told him, `I don't want you to ever see another one of my patients,' " Dr. Carl D. Lord said in U.S. District Court.
Lord said two of his patients underwent five supposed pregnancies and miscarriages while being treated by Jacobson.
In one case, Lord said, he determined that his patient was not pregnant the same day Jacobson told her she was. He said one of the patients told him that Jacobson said she had miscarried and that the fetus had been reabsorbed into her body.
Lord said he called Jacobson in mid-1982 and said, "I'd like to know what the heck is going on."
Regarding the issue of fetal reabsorption, "I told him it was a bunch of crap," Lord told the jury.
"He said, `You don't know what you're talking about. I've always been ahead of the rest of the people,' " Lord said.
Lord said he told Jacobson he was severing their professional relationship. Lord said one of his patients did go back to Jacobson and had a supposed pregnancy that miscarried.
Earlier Friday, a witness testifying under the pseudonym John Ruby said he never would have authorized Jacobson to use his own semen to artificially inseminate his wife.
"I said I wanted somebody who was as close as possible to my height," said Ruby, who is 6-foot-6. He said Jacobson told him he had found a donor who was 6-foot-6.
"He broke our trust," Ruby said. "I trusted him that he was getting a donor like he said he was. He was supposed to be 6 feet, 6 inches with brown hair and my build."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB