Posted on 03/19/2005 6:52:49 PM PST by tbird5
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch High Court awarded damages on Friday to a severely handicapped 11-year-old girl because medics would not test for a genetic defect before her birth, despite her mother's request.
Court documents show the ruling in the "Baby Kelly" case makes the Netherlands the second European country after France to award compensation in a so-called wrongful life case.
The documents say the mother had asked doctors to examine the fetus because of serious genetic defects present in the father's side of the family, which, if detected, would have prompted the mother to abort the baby.
She had one healthy daughter but had lost two babies during pregnancy, when she discovered she was expecting again.
Her obstetrician decided such tests were not needed, the court documents said.
"Her child was born with these defects. It is certain that if tests had been conducted on the fetus, these defects would have been detected and consequently the mother, in consultation with the father, would have decided to end the pregnancy," the High Court said in the document.
It awarded damages to both the child and her parents, who have not been identified.
The amount, for the cost of education and care of the child until her 21st birthday and for psychological treatment for the mother, will be determined later. Both parents can also claim compensation for their pain and suffering.
A lower court in The Hague had ruled in favor of the parents in March 2003 but the Leiden academic hospital, in central Netherlands, and medical specialists appealed.
The High Court on Friday rejected that appeal but it said in its ruling that Baby Kelly did not have a right to have been aborted and awarded damages solely because of a lack of proper medical care.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
O.M.G.
And it would be cheaper, too.
Euros are regressing rapidly to their pagan past.
Suing because she did NOT have an abortion??? Because she wasn't notified of a potential birth defect - which would have resulted in an abortion....
Dear God - Come Sweet Jesus - how much longer will you allow such evil to continue?
She's the one who took the risk in making use of her husband's sperm, which she already knew was probably choc full of "bad genes".
There are, of course, other things she could have done. For instance she could have simply wandered about and taken a child meeting her specifications from it's unsuspecting mother. There's no doubt some Nederlandish judge could have come up with an acceptable legal argument supporting her in such action should she have gotten caught.
I feel so sorry for that child. Imagine knowing her mother would have had an abortion because she is handicapped.
Hopefully in this case, the child has such a disability that she will never know that.
Scoff at the Dutch if you will, but you need to know there have been many, many cases like this in the US. We've led the way in this type of claim.
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