Bernard Norman Barwin is a Canadian physician and medical professor. He was appointed to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1997, but resigned the award in 2013 after admitting to professional misconduct.

Early life and education

Barwin was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

to an

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

Jewish family. He attended

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

to complete his Medical Degree, graduating in 1965.

Career

Barwin was director of the High Risk Pregnancy Clinic and co-director of the

Ottawa General Hospital The Ottawa Hospital's General Campus is one of three main campuses of The Ottawa Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. With 569 beds, the General Campus includes The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre and the Cancer Centre. The Ottawa General H ...

's fertility clinic. He left in 1984 because he was not a certified gynaecologist in Canada. He would then establish his own clinic, though still licensed as a general physician. He was the Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

. He was also one of the founding members of Fertility Self-Help Group (ISSG), which later became the Infertility Awareness Association of Canada. He also founded Canadians for Choice and has been President since 2004. In addition, he was the President of the Canadian Fertility Society, the

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...

Federation of Canada and Planned Parenthood Ottawa. In 1997, Barwin was appointed to the

for having a "profound impact on both the biological and psycho-social aspects of women's reproductive health." In 2009, he was awarded the

Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

from

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Professional misconduct

In 1995, Loree-Ann Huard and Wanda Cowton sued Barwin for allegedly using the wrong sperm donor. The couple and Barwin settled out of court in 1998. In 2010, two former patients of Barwin brought lawsuits against him alleging that he had inseminated them with the wrong sperm. In January 2013, Barwin admitted to professional misconduct in regards to four women who were artificially inseminated with the wrong sperm. A panel of the

College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) is the regulatory college for medical doctors in Ontario, Canada. The college issues certificates of registration for all doctors to allow them to practise medicine as well as: monitors an ...

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. A review of the incidences could find no "evident" reasons for the error. He resigned from his appointment to the Order of Canada and it was formally removed later that year. On 1 November 2016, former patients of Barwin brought a class action against Barwin on behalf of his former patients and the children that Barwin helped conceive at his clinic, the Broadview Fertility Clinic. The statement of claim alleged that Barwin used his own sperm when inseminating his patients. His medical licence was revoked by the

in 2019."Fertility doctor's licence revoked after he used own sperm to inseminate patients"

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

Toronto, June 25, 2019. On 1 November 2021, a judge approved a $13 million dollar settlement against Barwin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barwin, Bernard Norman Living people Canadian gynaecologists South African emigrants to Canada Alumni of Queen's University Belfast People stripped of a British Commonwealth honour Medical malpractice Year of birth missing (living people) Sperm donation

Early life and education

Career

Professional misconduct

See also

References