Pro-Life/Pro-Baby ping!
Please FReepmail me if you would like to be added to, or removed from, the Pro-Life/Pro-Baby ping list...
Posted on 03/07/2006 3:31:06 PM PST by Gelato
Ohio justices rule parents can sue for fetal test error
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Parents can sue a doctor if a genetic screening misses a severe or fatal condition that would have caused them to seek an abortion, a divided state Supreme Court ruled Friday.
The 4-3 decision limited such lawsuits to costs associated with a pregnancy and birth, saying such parents could not sue for pain-and-suffering damages or repayment of the costs of raising a disabled child.
The decision was a partial victory for a Kentucky couple who sued a Cincinnati obstetrics practice and hospital that provided genetic counseling and told them their fetus did not have a genetic disorder that the mother carried. But the 8-year-old boy has the disorder and can’t speak or crawl.
The finding overruled a lower-court decision that Richard and Helen Schirmer could sue for the costs of raising their disabled son.
Justice Maureen O’Connor, writing for the majority, noted that the Schirmers had indicated they would have obtained an abortion if they had received the correct diagnosis. As a result, she said they could not sue for costs above those of raising a child without a disability.
The case was the first time Ohio’s justices had issued a definitive ruling on a claim of “wrongful birth.” A handful of states allow such claims by parents seeking compensation for the financial burden of caring for a severely disabled child or the emotional trauma of watching a baby die shortly after birth.
Attorney Frank Woodside, who represents Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, said the decision was correct.
Doctors had no involvement in the actual defect, he said, and the law doesn’t allow damages if the disabling condition existed from the point of conception
Based on some SCOTUS decisions, I think he countersued and won.
Please FReepmail me if you would like to be added to, or removed from, the Pro-Life/Pro-Baby ping list...
My thoughts exactly. This poor child.
Thanks for the ping!
More evidence that the medical profession sees aborting "imperfect" children as a "duty":
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1593546/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.