Couple wins "wrongful birth" lawsuit-along with $50 million

[brimic]

“This beggars the moral imagination,” Rod Dreher wrote at The American Conservative. “What parent goes to court to contend that justice requires that their baby, however damaged, should be dead?”

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/jury-awards-couple-50-million-in-wrongful-birth-lawsuit

[MillCreek]

I am quite familiar with this case since it happened in my area and I know both the plaintiff and defense counsel.  'Wrongful birth' cases have been around for decades, and it is a well-recognized cause of action.  Comment on the cases on many of the local media sites was shut down because of the vitrolic comments about how the parents 'got what they deserved by planning to murder their unborn child' and that 'the State should take the child away from the parents who tried to murder it'. 

Oh, and in before the lock, as per the usual abortion thread.

[Balog]

MillCreek: as a parent, what effects if any do you think having one's parents sue a hospital because they are upset that you were born would have on a child?

[AZRedhawk44]

MillCreek: as a parent, what effects if any do you think having one's parents sue a hospital because they are upset that you were born would have on a child?

A child as handicapped as this one will probably lack the mental capabilities to process that question, though it was the first thing I thought of as well when I saw this story.

[MillCreek]

I have sat across the deposition table from many parents who have had a child born with significant problems, either as a result of birth defects or something that happened during labor and delivery.  Some of those parents have dealt with the situation with a grace and spirit that awes me.  Some of the parents have not been able to cope.  All of the parents loved their children, I am certain, but not everyone is equipped to deal with the demands of raising a child with these issues.  I cannot find it in my heart to criticize these parents for either decision they make.

 I have often wondered how my wife and I would have handled such a situation.  I think that unless you find yourself personally confronted with the reality, statements as to 'you should always continue the pregnancy' or 'adopt the child out' or 'abort' or 'God/Allah/FSM will provide' are just theory.   I would not try to impose my own personal and moral beliefs on someone facing such a decision.

[Sergeant Bob]

Right or wrong, the parents were told the child had a 50/50 chance of being healthy. Doesn't sound like very good odds to me. I don't believe they have standing, although obviously, enough people believed they did.

[tokugawa]

And labs will stop any testing for pre birth anomalies in 3,2,1........

[T.O.M.]

I have often wondered how my wife and I would have handled such a situation.  I think that unless you find yourself personally confronted with the reality, statements as to 'you should always continue the pregnancy' or 'adopt the child out' or 'abort' or 'God/Allah/FSM will provide' are just theory.   I would not try to impose my own personal and moral beliefs on someone facing such a decision.

Two things...first, I admire this statement, and hope that I live up to a similar standard.

Second, when we were having our first child, lab test came back showing a very high likelihood of significant problems.  I don't recall the details.  The doc called us in, told us, and then ordered confirmation testing.  He laid out the options, including abortion, and sent us home to come back for the testing.  It was a miserable two days.  Every thought about what the possibilities were was met with an opposing thought.  Thinking about aborting made me feel so guilty for being selfish, but then thinking of not aborting also made me feel selfish.  Which was worse, to feel selfish for wanting a life without that burden, or feeling selfish for wanting to avoid the guilt and making a child live a life of pain and suffering?  Long story short, confirmation testing was a blessing, because it showed that my wife was further along than anyone thought, so the original test results weren't actually high, but normal for her gestation stage.

But, as Millcreek said, I don't want to make that call, and shouldn't judge anyone for having done so.