Asch, UCI Face New Suits on Fertility Issue
A Sacramento woman filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court on Wednesday alleging that former UC Irvine fertility doctor Ricardo H. Asch stole her eggs and then transplanted one in another woman who gave birth.
Jenny Humphrey Kohler, who was Asch’s patient in 1987, is seeking unspecified damages against UCI Medical Center, alleging negligence, fraud and conspiracy, among other things, according to court documents.
Asch, along with his two medical partners at the now-defunct Center for Reproductive Health, have denied any intentional wrongdoing. Asch, who faces 35 counts of mail fraud in the United States, now practices medicine in Mexico City.
Also on Wednesday, another former patient filed a similar lawsuit against UCI Medical Center. Helen Bothwell alleges three of her eggs were taken without consent and used for genetic research. Bothwell was a patient of Dr. Jose Balmaceda in 1990 at the clinic’s Saddleback facility.
“It’s rather disconcerting that former patients are still finding out they were involved in the UCI fertility scandal,” said Larry Eisenberg, the attorney for both women.
The two cases brings the total of lawsuits stemming from the UCI fertility scandal to about 90.
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