The price of life: wrongful existence case law and international comparisons

Abstract

This is the second of a three-part review of the development of case law on 'wrongful existence' claims. A previous article examined the increasing prominence of policy considerations in our jurisprudence more generally, often dressed as 'distributive justice', and considered the apparent trend toward preference for autonomy over more traditional views of the sanctity of life in recent years. This second article will describe the development of case law on 'wrongful existence' in some detail and will look briefly at the solutions in other jurisdictions. A third article will pick out the key elements of the leading authority (McFarlane, 1999), and ask whether any predictions can be made in this specific field or more widely.