A woman says an Ancestry.com DNA test revealed her father — her parents’ fertility doctor; The Washington Post, April 3, 2018

Lindsey Bever, The Washington Post; A woman says an Ancestry.com DNA test revealed her father — her parents’ fertility doctor

[Kip Currier: I've been lecturing on some of the upshots and the downsides of DNA testing the past few years in my Information Ethics course and for guest talks in a colleague's Research Data Management (RDM) course. Advertising for DNA testing has exploded this past year on television and radio. These ads, in my view, are very irresponsible in presenting DNA tests as utterly carefree and adventurous (connect with your ancestral homelands! find out the history of your long-lost ancestors!), without adequately alerting people to the very significant, potentially harmful aspects they can present.

This article is one cautionary tale about unexpected consequences of DNA tests.]

"After news of the lawsuit, a spokeswoman for Ancestry.com said in a statement Tuesday that DNA testing “helps people make new and powerful discoveries about their family history and identity.

“We are committed to delivering the most accurate results, however with this, people may learn of unexpected connections,” it read. “With Ancestry, customers maintain ownership and control over their DNA data. Anyone who takes a test can change their DNA matching settings at any time, meaning that if they opt out, their profile and relationship will not be visible to other customers.”

Since the situation came to light, Rowlette and her parents have been “suffering immeasurably,” the lawsuit says."