Conceiving Crime: A trusted doctor faces serious allegations

In the latest episode of the new podcast, Conceiving Crime, host Sami Parker examines a case out of Arizona involving a trusted, well-respected doctor who suddenly found himself facing allegations from his former patients. Conceiving Crime is a podcast dedicated to investigating crimes past and present involving sex, procreation, pregnancy, birth, and all things human reproduction. 

For years, Dr. Finkel was the go-to resource for reporters looking for insight into the medical world. He was well-respected and seemingly well-liked by his patients and his community, with many new patients going to him based on the recommendation of others. Golden Boy stories in the media described him as a good but eccentric doctor and dubbed him “The Terminator.”

Then one day, after years of operation, one of his former patients began to destroy Finkel’s perfect image, accusing Finkel of shocking and serious wrongdoing. Finkel claimed she was lying. But then more patients began to make similar claims.

Doctor's Order's | Conceiving Crime Podcast

For his part, Finkel maintained his innocence, claiming that his patients were lying and that he was the victim. He accused them of having false memories about him and of being incapable of understanding proper medical protocol. Even as he was put in handcuffs, Finkel fought to clear his name, refusing to admit to any of the accusations.

Was Finkel simply a misunderstood doctor doing his job?  What could a man so confident of his innocence, so beloved by the media, have done to rouse an eventual 100 former patients into making accusations against him? Finkel was playing proverbial legal Russian Roulette – because these accusations, if proven to be true, could completely end his career and land him in prison for up to 75 years — the rest of his life. 

Finkel would eventually get his day in court — but would he be vindicated?

Listen to the podcast here.