An Oregon couple is suing because a test missed that the child had Down syndrome, which had they known, would have resulted in their child’s abortion. From the story:
In the months before their daughter was born in 2007, Deborah and Ariel Levy worried the baby might have Down syndrome. They say a doctor at the Legacy Center for Maternal-Fetal Medicine assured them that a sample of tissue taken from the placenta early in the pregnancy ruled out the developmental disability, despite the results of later testing that showed the fetus might have it. But within days of the birth of their daughter, the Southwest Portland couple learned the baby did have Down syndrome. Had they known, they say, they would have terminated the pregnancy. Now they’re suing in Multnomah County Circuit Court, seeking more than $14 million to cover the costs of raising her and providing education, medical care, and speech and physical therapy for their daughter, who turned 2 this month. The suit also seeks money to cover her life-long living expenses.
This is not the same thing as when a physician’s negligence injures a fetus. Seeking to have the injury causer bear the cost of caring for the child after he or she is born is a legitimate subject of litigation. But the doctor in this case didn’t injure anyone.
These “wrongful birth” lawsuits are pernicious and support the new eugenics project upon which society has embarked. Eugenic abortion may be legal, but as a matter of public policy, doctors should not be punished simply because a baby was born.
