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Actions for wrongful birth and wrongful life.
1Faculty of Law, Australian National University, Australia.
New Zealand Bioethics Journal
|December 14, 2004
Summary
This paper examines wrongful birth and life lawsuits, exploring legal and ethical challenges in assigning parental responsibility for unwanted children across common law jurisdictions. It analyzes harm identification in negligence claims involving both normal and disabled births.
Area of Science:
- Law
- Ethics
- Sociology
Background:
- Wrongful birth and wrongful life actions are legal claims concerning the birth of an unwanted child.
- These actions arise under the common law of negligence in several major English-speaking countries.
- Significant legal and ethical questions surround these types of claims.
Purpose of the Study:
- To discuss wrongful birth and wrongful life actions in comparative common law.
- To analyze the legal and ethical issues associated with these claims.
- To explore the challenges in identifying harm and assigning responsibility in such cases.
Main Methods:
- Comparative legal analysis of common law jurisdictions (US, Canada, England, Australia).
- Examination of negligence principles applied to birth-related lawsuits.
- Discussion of ethical considerations and legal precedents.
Main Results:
- The paper identifies complexities in defining and quantifying harm in wrongful birth/life cases.
- It highlights the legal and ethical dilemmas in assigning responsibility for the birth of a normal or disabled child.
- The analysis reveals variations and commonalities in legal approaches across jurisdictions.
Conclusions:
- Wrongful birth and life actions present substantial legal and ethical challenges.
- Current legal frameworks struggle with adequately addressing the harm and responsibility in these unique cases.
- Further consideration is needed to refine legal and ethical approaches to these sensitive issues.