Wrongful Birth: Medical,Legal,and Philosophical Issues

Fleisher L. , “Wrongful Births: When Is There Liability for Prenatal Injury?,” AJDC, 141 (1987): 1260–65.

Botkin J.R. , “The Legal Concept of Wrongful Life,” JAMA, 259 (1988): 1541–45.

Rhodes A.M. , “Legal Aspects of Prenatal Diagnosis,” Clin. Obstet. and Gynecol., 31, no. 2 (1988): 233–52.

Oberle I. Rousseau F. Heitz D. Kretz C. , “Instability of 550-base Pair DNA Segment and Abnormal Methylation in Fragile X Syndrome,” Science, 252 (1991): 1097–1102; Yu S. Pritchard M. Kremer E. Lynch M. , “Fragile X Genotype Characterized by an Unstable Region of DNA,” Science, 252 (1991): 1179–81; and Ramos F.J. Eunpu D.L. Finucane D. Pfendner E.G. , “Direct DNA Testing for Fragile X Syndrome,” AJDC, 147 (1993): 1231–35.

Schroeder v. Perkel, 432 A.2d 834 (N.J. 1981).

Ellis v. Sherman, 515 A.2d 1327 (Pa. 1986).

Andalo v. Superior Court, 162 Cal. App. 3d 600 (1984); Haymon v. Wilkerson, 535 A.2d 880 (D.C. 1987); Fassoula v. Ramey, 450 So.2d 822 (Fla. 1984); Blake v. Cruz, 108 Idaho 253, 698 P.2d 315 (1984); Goldberg v. Ruskin, 128 Ill. App. 3d 1029, 471 N.E.2d 530 (1984); Eisbrenner v. Stanley, 106 Mich. App. 357, 308 N.W.2d 209 (1981); Smith v. Cote, 513 A.2d 341 (N.H. 1986); Berman v. Allen, 80 N.J. 421, 404 A.2d 8 (1979); Becker v. Schwartz, 46 N.Y.2d 401, 386 N.E.2d 807 (1978); Speck v. Finegold, 497 Pa. 77, 439 A.2d 110 (1981); Jacobs v. Theimer, 519 S.W.2d 846 (Tex. 1975); Naccash v. Burger, 223 Va. 406, 290 S.E.2d 825 (1982); Harbeson v. Parke-Davis, Inc., 98 Wash.2d 460, 656 P.2d 483 (1983); James G. v. Caserta, 332 S.E.2d 872 (W.Va. 1985); Gallagher v. Duke University Hospital, 638 F. Supp. 979 (1986); Pitre v. Opelousas General Hospital, 519 So.2d 105 (La. 1987); Linenger v. Eisenbaum, 764 P.2d 1202 (Colo. 1988); Garrison by Garrison v. Medical Center of Delaware, Inc., 571 A.2d 786 (Del. 1989); Viccara v. Milunsky, 406 Mass. 777, 551 N.E.2d 8 (1990); Arche v. United States Dept. of Army, 798 P.2d 477 (Kan. 1990); Walker by Pizano v. Mart, 790 P.2d 735 (Ariz. 1990); Reed v. Campagnolo, 630 A.2d 1145 (Md. 1993); and Keel v. Banach, 624 So.2d 1022 (Ala. 1993).

Roback v. United States, 658 F.2d 471 (7th Cir. 1981); Gildiner v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 451 F. Supp. 692 (E.D. Pa. 1978); and Phillips v. United States, 575 F. Supp. 1309 (D.S.C. 1989).

Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 24, 2931 (Supp. 1988).

Schork v. Huber, 648 S.W.2d 861 (Ky. 1983); Wilson v. Kuenzi, 751 S.W.2d 741 (Mo. 1988); Azzolino v. Dingfelder, 315 N.C. 103, 337 S.E.2d 528 (1985), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 835 (1986); Spencer v. Seikel, 742 P.2d 1126 (Okla. 1987); and Atlanta Obstetrics & Gynecology Group v. Abelson, 398 S.E.2d 557 (Ga. 1990).

Idaho Code 5–334 (Supp. 1986); Minn. Stat. 145.424 (1987 Supp.); Mo. Ann. Stat. 188.130 (Vernon Supp. 1987); S.D. Codified Laws Annual 21-55-2 (Supp. 1986); Utah Code Ann. 78-11-24 (1986 Supp.); and 42 Pa. Const. Stat. Ann. 8305 [Purdon 1990 Supp.].

Hickman v. Group Health Plan, Inc. , 396 N.W.2d 10 (Minn. 1986); and Dansby v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital , 623 A.2d 816 (Pa. Super. 1993).

Andrews L.B. , “Torts and the Double Helix: Malpractice Liability for Failure to Warn of Genetic Risks,” Houston L. Rev., 92 (1992):149–84.

See Note: “Wrongful Birth Actions: The Case against Legislative Curtailment,” Harvard L. Rev., 100 (1987): 2017–34; Johnston R.K. , “Medical Malpractice and ‘Wrongful Birth’: A Critical Analysis of Wilson v. Kuenzi,” U.M.K.C. L. Rev., 57 (1989): 337–53; Jankowski K.J. , “Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Life Actions Arising from Negligent Genetic Counseling: The Need for Legislation Supporting Reproductive Choice,” Fordham Urban L. J., 17 (1989): 27–62; Smith v. Cote, 513 A.2d 341 (N.H. 1986); Haymon v. Wilkerson, 535 A.2d 880 (D.C. App. 1987); Hickman v. Group Health Plan, Inc. , 396 N.W.2d 10 (Amdahl, dissenting opinion); and Roback v. United States, 658 F.2d 471.

Lyons J. , “To Be or Not To Be: The Pennsylvania General Assembly Eliminates Wrongful Birth and Life Actions,” Villanova L. Rev., 34 (1989): 681–96; Bopp J. , Bostrom B.A. McKinney D.A. , “The ‘Rights’ and ‘Wrongs’ of Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Life: A Jurisprudential Analysis of Birth Related Torts,” Duquesne L. Rev., 27 (1989): 461–515.

Supra note 12.

See Harbison v. Parke-Davis, Inc. , 656 P.2d 483 (Wash. 1983).

Reed v. Campagnolo , 630 A.2d 1145 (Md. 1993).

Annas G.J. , “Informed Consent, Cancer, and Truth in Prognosis,” N. Engl. J. Med., 330 (1994): 223–25.

Botkin J.R. , “Prenatal Screening: Professional Standards and the Limits of Parental Choice,” Obstet. Gynecol., 75 (1990): 875–80.

Cantebury v. Spence, 464 F.2d 772 (D.C. Cir. 1972).

Faden R.R. Beauchamp T.L. , A History and Theory of Informed Consent (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), pp. 306–07.

Mehlman M.J. , “Assuring the Quality of Medical Care: The Impact of Outcome Measurement and Practical Standards,” Law, Med. & Health Care, 18, no. 4 (1990): 368–84.

The American Society of Human Genetics, “The American Society of Human Genetics Statement on Cystic Fibrosis Screening,” Am. J. Hum. Genet., 46 (1990): 393.

U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Cystic Fibrosis and DNA Tests: Implications of Carrier Screening, OTA-BA-532 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, August 1992).

Annas G.J. , “Is a Genetic Screening Test Ready When the Lawyers Say It Is?,” Hastings Center Report, 15 (1985): 16–18.

President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Issues in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, Making Health Care Decisions (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1982), pp. 41–50.

Feinberg J. , Harm to Others: The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law (New York: Oxford University Press, 1984), pp. 31–65.

See Bopp supra note 15.

Becker v. Schwartz, 486 N.E.2d 807 (N.Y. 1978); Haymon v. Wilkerson, 535 A.2d 880 (D.C. 1987); Berman v. Allen, 80 N.J. 421, 404 A.2d 8 (1979); James v. Vaserta, 332 S.E.2d 872 (W.Va. 1985); Garrison v. Medical Center of Delaware, Inc., 571 A.2d 786 (Del. 1989); Phillips v. United States, 575 F. Supp. 1309 (D.S.C. 1989); Wilson v. Kuenzi, 751 S.W.2d 741 (Mo. banc 1988); Azzolino v. Dingelder, 337 S.E.2d 528 (N.C. 1985); Simmons v. West Covina Medical Clinic, 260 Cal. Rptr. 772 (Cat. App. 2d Dist. 1989); Alquijay v. St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, 473 N.E.2d 244 (N.Y. 1984); Atlanta Obstetrics & Gynecology Group v. Abelson, 398 S.E.2d 557 (Ga. 1990); and Hickman v. Group Health Plan, Inc., 396 N.W.2d 10 (Minn. 1986).

Harberson v. Parke-Davis, Inc. , 656 P.2d 483 (Wash. 1983).

Blake v. Cruz, 698 P.2d 315 (Idaho 1984); Eisbrenner v. Stanley, 308 N.W.2d 209 (Mich. 1981); Smith v. Cote, 513 A.2d 341 (N.H. 1986); Jacobs v. Theimer, 519 S.W.2d 846 (Tex. 1975); Walker by Pizano v. Mart, 790 P.2d 735 (Ariz. 1990); Roback v. United States, 658 F.2d 471 (7th Cir. 1981); Procanik by Procanik v. Cillo, 478 A.2d 755 (N.J. 1984); Proffitt v. Bartolo, 412 N.W. 2d 232 (Mich. App. 1987); and Gleitman v. Cosgrove, 227 A.2d 689 (N.J. 1967).

Linenger v. Eisenbaum, 764 P.2d 1202 (Colo. 1988).

Reed v. Campagnolo, 630 A.2d 1145 (Md. 1993); Keel v. Banach, 624 So.2d 1022 (Ala. 1993); and Dansky v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 623 A.2d 816 (Pa. Super. 1993).

Park v. Chessin, 400 N.Y.2d 110 (1977).

Goldberg v. Ruskin, 471 N.E.2d 530 (Ill. 1984); Gildiner v. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 451 F. Supp. 692 (1978); and Munro v. Regents of the University of California, 263 Cal. Rptr. 878 (Cal. App. 2d Dist. 1989).

Nelson v. Krusen, 678 S.W.2d 918 (Tex. 1984).

Schroeder v. Perkel, 432 A.2d 834 (N.J. 1981).

Viccaro v. Milunsky, 551 N.E.2d 8 (Mass. 1990).

Dorlin v. Providence Hospital, 325 N.W.2d 600 (Mich. 1982).

Payne by and through Payne v. Myers, 743 P.2d 186 (Utah 1987).

Moores v. Lucas, 405 So.2d 1022 (Fla. App. 1981).

Pitre v. Opelousas General Hospital , 519 So.2d 105 (La. 1987).

Nolan v. Lee Ho, 511 A.2d 143 (N.J. 1990).

Shelton v. St. Anthony's Medical Center , 781 S.W.2d 48 (Mo. banc 1989).

Ellis v. Sherman, 515 A.2d 1327 (Pa. 1986); and Speck v. Finegold, 439 A.2d 110 (Pa. 1981).

Lloyd v. North Broward Hospital Dist., 570 So.2d 984 (Fla. App. 3d Dist. 1990).

Siemieniec v. Lutheran General Hospital , 512 N.E.2d 691 (Ill. 1987).

Arche v. United States Dept. of Army , 798 P.2d 477 (Kan. 1990).

King M. C. Rowell S. Love S. M. , “Inherited Breast and Ovarian Cancer: What are the Choices?,” JAMA, 269 (1993): 1975–80.

Asch A. , “Reproductive Technology and Disability,” in Cohen S. Taub N. , eds., Reproductive Laws for the 1990's (Totowa, N.J.: Humana Press, 1989), pp. 69–124.

See Bopp supra note 15.

See Note: “Wrongful Birth Actions: The Case against Legislative Curtailment,” Harvard L. Rev., 100 (1987): 2017–34.

Scheid J.H. , “Benefits vs. Burdens: The Limitation of Damages in Wrongful Birth,” J. Fam. Law, 23 (1984–1985): 57–98; and Bogdan F.W. , “Wrongful Birth: Who Owes What to Whom and Why?,” Wash. and Lee L. Rev., 40 (1983): 123–41.

Gath A. , “The Impact of an Abnormal Child upon the Parents,” Brit. J. Psychiat., 130 (1977): 405–10.