Wrongful Birth: USA Legal Challenges & Child's Severe Medical Defects - Research Paper

Introduction

Wrongful Birth Cases in the USA is the claim whereby parents that they gave birth to a child with severe medical defects. Other parents claim that doctors failed to advise them accordingly on the risks of conceiving and the likely abnormalities that their child will have if the child is born. There are legal challenges that come up where people believe that they believe that the doctors can be legally held responsible for not advising the plaintiff on the best decision to take. There are children born with serious abnormalities that are preventable if the doctors had taken the necessary steps to prevent the abnormalities.

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Parents have a genuine concern that doctors have an obligation under the law to carry out tests on all potential risks that their patients face and advise them accordingly (Find law, 2019). Some risks can be avoided, while other risks cannot be avoided when the doctors recommend the best action that the patients need to take to avoid the medical condition that results in children being born with abnormalities. Doctors that can be blamed are the ones that are ignored to provide advice that can help the patients not to give birth children with abnormalities.

The legal aspect that the doctors can be sued for is negligence, where they can be sued for not performing the work according to the code of conduct that guides the doctors in their work (Find law, 2019). The patients trust the doctors with their health, including during conception, where there is a conception of a child that is going to be born. The doctors know, and the reason why people seek medical attention is to be advised accordingly.

In such a lawsuit, the plaintiff argues that were it not for the defendant's acts of negligence; the child would be normal. The damages sought in such a lawsuit are for the medical expenses that are not incurred for a healthy child. Normally, the court does not rule for the award of damages on the cost of raising the child. Some courts, however, allow seeking the recovery of emotional distress damages as well as physical pain suffered when delivering the child (Find law, 2019). To recover these damages, the plaintiff should prove that the negligence of the doctor influences their decision of whether to conceive or give birth or terminate the pregnancy.

The defendant can argue that although they failed to diagnose the fetus, their actions were not the cause of the abnormality (Brown, 2018). Even if the fetus is diagnosed with an abnormality, it may not be treated, thereby making it inevitable. It is not easy, therefore, to prove that the abnormalities are caused by the negligence of the doctor hence the reason why it was a hustle to win a wrongful birth under the cause standard. The plaintiff can, however, win a wrong birth lawsuit by arguing that the defendant's acts of negligence denied them an opportunity of making an informed decision.

In some instances, a pregnant mother can contract a disease that is incurable and which affects the fetus. However, the doctor has the duty of conducting various tests to diagnose diseases and advise the patient accordingly. In the case of Jacobs v. Theimer Dortha Jean Jacobs contradicted rubella during the first trimester. She gave birth to a child whose organs were defective. Together with her husband, they filed a lawsuit against Dr. Louis M. Theimer. They claimed that Theimer acts of negligence were the cause of the defects in the born baby (Justia Law, 1975). He failed to diagnose the rubella disease and advise a couple of the risks involved in giving birth.

The lawsuit was filed with the intent to claim damages to cater to treatment expenses as well as caring for the child. They also sought emotional damages since they suffered emotionally after the birth of the child. Mrs. Jacobs contracted rubella while on vacation, and upon return home, she consulted Dr. Thelmer (Justia Law, 1975). She was hospitalized, and the doctor informed her that she was pregnant. Since she was feeling ill, Mrs. Jacobs was worried that she might have contracted measles, but the doctor assured her that it was not.

The plaintiff argued that the doctor acted negligently by not finding the actual cause of the illness despite her raising concern (Justia Law, 1975). She argued that if the doctor had diagnosed her with rubella and evaluated the effects that it would have on the child, she could have considered terminating the pregnancy. The medical costs were draining the family, and the child was suffering.

A lawsuit for wrongful birth can be filed by parents of a child who is born with a congenital disease. The parents could lay a legal claim if the doctor failed to warn the parents of the risk of conceiving or giving birth to a child with congenital or genetic abnormalities (Justia Law, 1975). In these cases, the plaintiff claims that the doctor misdiagnosed the fetus, and as a result, a child with serious defects that will be expensive to manage was born. The parents, therefore, did not make an informed decision to conceive or give birth to the child.

Although abortion was illegal, the court was not mandated to punish the couple for the choice they might have considered. There was no violation of the criminal law, and the case before the court was wrongful birth caused by the doctor's negligence. The concern in wrongful birth cases is on whether damages should be sought for the existence of defective life rather than no life. The plaintiff was not granted any damages, and the ruling made by Chief Justice was affirmed even after the plaintiff appealed (Justia Law, 1975).

Summary

There are intensity and reduced possibility of winning a wrongful birth suit in the United States. Only half of the States permit suits regarding wrongful suits. The suits not only face the hiccups in the court but also in the society, disability advocates as well as the pro-lifers. Winning a lawsuit on a wrongful birth means that the damages are awarded for giving birth to a child with abnormalities (Picciuto, 2017).

The pro-life movement is against abortion; hence, the reason they do not advocate for wrongful birth suits. The disability advocates also oppose lawsuits on wrongful births because they communicate a message that is discriminatory to people with disabilities (Picciuto, 2017). They communicate a message that their lives are not worth living and that their existence is a burden to other people.

Conclusion

In conclusion, parents can file a wrongful birth lawsuit if a child with abnormalities was born due to a doctor's negligence. The doctor may, for example, fail to diagnose a disease during pregnancy that causes defects on the fetus. Filing a lawsuit can be done, but proving that the actions of the doctor were the proximate cause of the abnormalities can be a challenge because some of these diseases cannot be treated even if diagnosed.

References

Brown, L. X. (2018). Legal Ableism, Interrupted: Developing Tort Law & Policy Alternatives to Wrongful Birth & Wrongful Life Claims. Disability Studies Quarterly, 38(2).

Find law. (2019). Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Life Lawsuits. Retrieved 1 December 2019, from https://injury.findlaw.com/medical-malpractice/wrongful-birth-and-wrongful-life-lawsuits.html

Justia Law. (1975). Jacobs v. Theimer. Retrieved 1 December 2019, from https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/supreme-court/1975/b-4583-0.html

Picciuto, E. (2017). Parents Sue for 'Wrongful Birth.' Retrieved 1 December 2019, from https://www.thedailybeast.com/parents-sue-for-wrongful-birth