" Wrongful Birth "

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False information during pregnancy was the issue of negligence. Wrongful birth is the legal term used for that complaint in malpractice cases, per the source from Wiki, earlier in the thread.

The parents had no choice in the matter of what common legal term was used to describe that type of malpractice in court, no more than they would of if it had been malpractice over negligence that led to wrongful death, or wrongful life. They are just common legal terms used in court system.

The parents were certainly not alone in their decision to abort a Down's pregancy. 9 out 10 women make this choice, when faced with the decision. This means that it is likely that close to 9 out of 10 women would have been upset too, if the medical facility and personnel responsible for their prenatal care was guilty of this type of negligence.

Down's pregnancies are fairly rare, and fortunately this type of negligence as reported is rarer than Down's pregnancies. The Doctors were reported to have actually sampled the mother's tissue rather than the child's tissue, along with 4 other negligent actions. This in part, accounts for the notoriety of the case along with the amount of money awarded for negligence.

If they did have an abortion after finding that out then I'm afraid I will have to support their right to choose to have an abortion.

You do realize that if(more like WHEN)there is a prenatal test for autism(spectrum more likely), these lawsuits will be more common when parents are misinformed by a doctor on prenatal test results for autism. The purpose of prenatal testing for non-lethal condition like Down's syndrome(and eventually autism spectrum disorders)is for selective abortion. IOW: Eugenics. It is to prevent people who have undesirable traits(in the cause of asperger syndrome) and/or are seen as a burden to society because they require lifelong care. Your argument is a good example of rationalization.


There is no doubt in my mind that the reasons you gave will be used by parents who get an abortion because they suspect the fetus will develop into a child with autism/asperger syndrome.

as an adoptee, I assure you, it is no small thing to know that your own parents didn't want you, and they were willing to hand you off to a complete stranger, and never look back, never know if you're alive or dead, well or ill.... it's a slow death in your soul to be an adoptee. I know there are people who claim they are happy adoptees, those are the ones who are terrified to say what they really feel out loud--and seem "ungrateful" to the people who basically bought them. Adoption is the buying and selling of human flesh, no more and no less. The only "GIVING" is when the biological parents abandon their child, from there on out, it's ALL buying and selling. Please don't get me started, but suffice to say, I whish with all my heart that my mother had aborted me. It would have been much much kinder.

In that case, why don't you just off yourself if you wish to be dead???............Furthermore, if you did(though I strongly discourage you from doing such), at least it would be your own decision to end your life and not someone else doing it for you because they thought of you as an inconvenience. In any case, I'm sorry that you feel this way but I happen to know for a fact that there are plenty of adoptees who most certainly DON'T. Stop projecting your own feelings onto others.


I'm going to make this very clear: While I support peoples right to choose whether or not they want to have a child, I absolutely do not support anyone's "right" to choose what kind of child they want to have.

Last edited by AspieRogue on 27 Mar 2012, 2:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

Money grubbing is all that is.

Good business decision on their part really.

TBH it really isn't a "right". It is a legal privilege that the law tentatively allows but is becoming increasingly restrictive towards. I am not however, in favor of a complete ban on abortion. But this sort of abortion, which is basically eugenics, needs to be stopped.

Last edited by AspieRogue on 27 Mar 2012, 8:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

What states have stopped prenatal testing and resulting abortions for Down's syndrome?

There is legislation proposed in Kansas and Arizona to eliminate the potential of wrongful birth lawsuits, but they haven't passed yet, and even if they do they don't outlaw prenatal testing and abortion for Down's pregnancies.

The Supreme Court decision of Roe vs Wade in 1973, make first trimester abortion legal in every state. There are no restrictions in prenatal testing for Down's in any state. Close to 90 percent of all Down's preganancies end in abortion, across the country.

Keep in mind that I was not talking about the way things ARE, but the the way things should be. It is really time for a ban on prenatal testing against non-lethal genetic abnormalities.

You edited the statement you made in your orginal comment, I responded to, that suggested some states have been sucessful in banning this type of abortion. Since you removed the statement I assume, that you have withdrawn that statement.

An actual ban on prenatal testing for non lethal genetic conditions is not going to happen anywhere in the US, as long as Roe vs.Wade is not overturned by the Supreme Court. Federal Law mandates the right to abortion for women in the 1st trimester in all states. Given the current members of the Supreme Court, the chance of that happening is close to nihl, even if the federal law was challenged.

I have a 25 y/o with Downs let me tell you I thought about this "lawsuit" thing, but I could not bring myself to lie that way, my Johnny is 25 and he has taught me how to love, live, pray and God is my strength. I could and would never ever say that if I had the chance I would have aborted him, God gave Johnny to me may His name be glorified. That is cold hearted, I am sure they had to go under oath and say that this was a child they did not want! Greedy greedy greedy parents..............disgusting I have zero respect for these people. I pray that they love this child, and this child teaches them about pure love! Wow this family is in for a journey of all journeys, the child has Mosaic type chromosomal disorder. Ooooooooo God has quite a journey for you Levys, get ready, because your life will be turned upside down. So they had the genetic test and it showed up "normal" but under the Mosaic disorder? Oh baby, God has a nice lesson for this couple, my advice...........let God do what he needs to do in your life, this child will teach you about PURE LOVE!

Your son is lucky to have you. God bless.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

I don't think greed was the motive here, or that they actually intended to abort had they found out prior to the birth of their daughter. The doctor made a mistake on the prenatal test (which, by the way, serves to inform parents on whether or not it is likely the child will have something like this so they will be prepared to meet his/her needs should they have a severe mental disability), and the parents found out their daughter was born with Down's Syndrome after birth as opposed to before, and, I'm guessing, they wanted to see to it that they would have the money to provide for her needs. Raising a child with Downs can be draining in virtually every way, including financially, because that child will more than likely never go on to live an independent life. As I said in my previous post on this thread (if you're willing to read it), the assumption with most pregnancies is that everything will be fine and the mother, if employed, will be able to go back on the job within the first 1-2 years after having the kid. However, when you have a child with something like this, things go from "Everything will be back to normal eventually." to "Whoops, your kid has (insert mental disability here), you can forget about work now.", and that can cause problems, especially in a family who was well-off with two incomes and now has to lower itself to only one. You also have to consider the fact that while the parents may love their child very much, raising a disabled kid can be very stressful and there have been cases where one parent may leave because they can't handle it. While I don't like the idea of people having abortions solely because the child may not be "normal", I also don't think parents should go without access to information that may enable them to meet the needs of a special needs child.