Congenital disabilities and the law

Abstract

This article describes the evolution and stutter steps in the legal developments surrounding the controversial claims for "wrongful conception," "wrongful birth," and "wrongful life." These claims arise from negligence in a failed vasectomy/tubal ligation resulting in an unwanted pregnancy and from negligence in failing to perform or properly interpret genetic testing resulting in the inability of parents to make an informed decision whether to terminate a pregnancy where a child would be, and ultimately is, born with serious genetic defects.