'Baby God' Review: HBO docu uncovers fertility doctor's horrifying desire to see his genetic legacy extend
When Wendi Babst, a retired police captain decided to get her DNA tested with a $69 Ancestry.com kit, she had no idea of all the horrifying truths she would uncover. Her results showed that she shared the same DNA with many others, who were listed as half-siblings. Many of them shared the same last name: Fortier. When Wendi spoke to her mother, Cathy Holm, she learns the story of how a young Cathy went to the Women's Hospital in Las Vegas with her husband because they were having trouble conceiving. The doctor Cathy saw was a man named Quincy E Fortier, who was a renowned fertility doctor in Nevada. Thousands of women had gone to see him and many had gotten what they thought were miracles.
Fortier is the subject of HBO's latest documentary, 'Baby God', directed by Hannah Olson. For the most part, Olson follows Wendi as she searches through everything she can find about her biological father, in part to understand herself, but also to understand why he did it. When Wendi discovers that Fortier is her father, she tells her mother -- which she says later in the documentary she feels guilty doing, who admits that had they known they needed a donor, they might not have opted for it.
However, there is a distinct likelihood that they may not have needed a donor, but let's get to that later. Fortier died in 2006, so we never get a direct account from him. However, Olson also included his acknowledged children as well as his adopted daughters. Fortier adopted two girls after he got divorced and for them, Fortier was a good man. They believe he thought he was doing a service for those who could not conceive. But as Wendi asks at the end of the film, why did Fortier decide that a couple having a child was worth the deception?
Brad Gulko, like Wendi, was born of Fortier's DNA. Growing up, he felt different from his extroverted dad, when he himself was introverted and interested in the sciences. Even Brad, who has a PhD. in human evolutionary genomics is left confused and uncertain after finding out the truth about his birth and while he believes that Fortier being his father explains his own personality traits, it is clear that Brad himself is left at odds over what happened.
When Mike Otis was born with blonde hair and blue eyes, his mother's sisters wondered how it was so, given that his father was part Native American. Mike wonders whether Fortier considered his father as "imperfect" and therefore used his own sperm. On speaking to his mother, Dorothy Otis towards the end of the film, we learn something quite horrifying -- Dorothy never even wanted to get pregnant. In fact, she had other plans, she wanted to go back to school. And while Dorothy is thankful for Mike, it is clear that she feels angry at how she had been wronged more than half a century ago.
But Dorothy's revelation is only the start of it. As Wendi continues her investigations, she uncovers recanted allegations from Fortier's stepdaughter, Carlene Fortier, who said that Fortier had molested her from when she was four or five years old up till she was thirteen. Thereafter, he would molest her on the pretext of medical examinations. When Carlene became pregnant at 17,shockingly to her because she had never had sexual relations, Fortier did not let her have an abortion and sent her to a home for unwed mothers. The baby was put up for adoption and when Jonathan Stensland was older, he looked Carlene up. Stensland also speaks to Wendi about meeting Fortier, who said that he had "accidentally" exchanged swabs while performing an exam on Carlene. Throughout their conversation, Wendi grows increasingly disturbed, as does the viewer and we see her scratching her jeans and then her bandaids.
One thing 'Baby God' tries to answer is why Fortier did it. It comes down to ego and power. Dorothy believes that Fortier probably wanted to see more of himself on the planet. But as Fortier's former colleague, Frank Silver says when asked how he would feel if it turned out his donated sperm sample had been used for insemination, "Another me? How could you not love that?"
There is never a sense of closure throughout the film and this is one of those rare documentaries that show how a lack of closure is part of life and it works. Wendi has many questions for the biological father she never met and it is increasingly certain she would have confronted him and not let him get away with excuses as to why he did it. Did finding out more about Fortier help her? For one thing, Wendi decides she wants to change her nose knowing where it came from and what kind of man he was.
The concepts of consent and identity were never as fully developed in the 20th century as it is now. Looking at the situation from the 21st-century lens, what Fortier did was clearly rape. But even if not from this lens, Fortier was a pervert as his own son, Quincy Fortier Jr says. The latter tells the camera how Fortier would molest him and his siblings and he only felt safe when Fortier was lying dead in his coffin. The question arises, however, would 20th-century science have considered Fortier's actions alright had he not been known as a pervert?
'Baby God' premieres on HBO on Wednesday, December 2, at 9/8c. The documentary will also be available to stream on HBO Max.