Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Life Actions

Abstract:

It seems strange, to have a claim against birth or life. Wrongful birth and wrongful life claims arise when a child or a parent sues a physician, alleging either that, due to genetic defects negligently not foreseen during the normal course of prenatal screening, either the child should not have been born (wrongful life-claim for damages for pain and suffering and economic costs of treatment, filed by the handicapped person) or the parent was deprived of the legal opportunity to terminate the pregnancy (wrongful birth-claim for damages for the costs of treatment, plus pain and suffering award, filed by parents).