A Critique of a ‘Wrongful Life’ Lawsuit in Korea

Abstract

This article reports and analyses a ‘wrongful life’ lawsuit brought against a genetic counsellor who failed to refer a woman for prenatal genetic testing despite her pleas to do so; this resulted in the wrongful birth of a child with a genetic abnormality. As a result of negligence, the mother did not have a termination and the baby was born. This is an event that reveals the troublesome nature of prenatal genetic testing applications in medical practice in Korea. The case presentation and critique illuminates how genetic research and its applications in practice influence human life and society. The central issues involved in the lawsuit are the discrepancies between present practice and the law, and lack of respect for the client’s request to make self-determined reproductive choices. The lawsuit is explored in terms of the ethical grounds for the court’s ruling, the responsibility of the genetic counsellor, the sociocultural impact of genetic testing in Korean society, and people’s ability to make informed choices about how this technology is applied in medical practice.