Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Actions for wrongful life

  • Chapter
Paediatric Forensic Medicine and Pathology

  • 157 Accesses

Abstract

Medicine is at an awkward point in genetic counselling, in transition from a state of ignorance to an intermediate stage at which information as to a spectrum of disorders can be discovered. The ability of physicians to screen the fetus for many genetic disorders such as Down’s syndrome has improved, through the use of such testing tools as amniocentesis and through the use of genetic histories, even though no treatment is available [2]. These advances in detection have spawned a new specialization of genetic counselling, the scope of which is discussed in Chapter 2.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. For the author’s previous thoughts, see Furrow, B.R. (1983) Impaired children and the emergence of a consensus. Law Med. Health Care, 11, 148; (1982) Diminished lives and malpractice: courts stalled in transition. Law, Med. Health Care, 10, 100.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. DiMaio, M.S., Baumgarten, A., Greenstein, R.M. et al. (1987) Screening for fetal Down’s syndrome in pregnancy by measuring maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein levels. New Engl. J. Med., 317, 342.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Hirschhorn, R. (1987) Therapy of genetic disorders. New Engl. J. Med., 316, 623.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hershfield, M.S., Buckley, R.H., Greenberg, M.L. et al. (1987) Treatment of adenosine deaminase deficiency with polyethylene glycol-modified adenosine deaminase. New Engl. J. Med., 316, 589.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Moore v. Lucas 405 So 2d 1022 (Fla., 1981) (Larsen’s syndrome in mother); Schroeder v. Ferkel 432 A 2d 834 (NJ, 1981) (cystic fibrosis in another member of the family).

    Google Scholar 

  6. See, generally, Omenn, G.S. (1978) Prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders, in Health Care Regulation, Economics, Ethics, Practice (ed. P. Abelson), American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, p. 151.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Marx, J.L. (1982) Tracking genes in developing mice. Science, 215, 44.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Dobbs, D., Keeton, R. and Owen, D. (1984) Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts, West Publishing, St Paul, sect. 55, p. 371. See also American Law Reports (3d, 1978 and Suppl. 1985) Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Co., New York, 83, 15.

    Google Scholar 

  9. See, generally, Fain, C.F. (1986–87) Wrongful life: legal and medical aspects. Kentucky LawJ., 75, 585. Recent decisions rejecting wrongful life include Alquijay v. St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center 473 NE 2d 244 (NY, 1984); Blake v. Cruz 698 P 2d 315 (Idaho, 1984); James G v. Caserta 332 SE 2d 872 (W Va., 1985).

    Google Scholar 

  10. See, for example, Minnesota Statutes, s. 145.424, subd. 2 (1984); Missouri Revised Statutes, ch. 188.130.

    Google Scholar 

  11. The Act does not run to Scotland where the common law in this context has not been tested.

    Google Scholar 

  12. [1982] 2 WLR 890.

    Google Scholar 

  13. 439 A 2d 110 (Penn., 1981).

    Google Scholar 

  14. 182 Cal Rptr 377 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  15. 513 A 2d 341(NH, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  16. 337 SE 2d 528 (NC, 1985).

    Google Scholar 

  17. 165 Cal Rptr 477 (1981) (negligently conducted tests on parents for Tay-Sachs disease).

    Google Scholar 

  18. 478 A 2d 755 (NJ, 1984).

    Google Scholar 

  19. 515 A 2d 1327 (Penn., 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  20. 512 NE 2d 691 (Ill., 1987).

    Google Scholar 

  21. 277 A 2d 689 (NY, 1967).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Capron, A. (1979) Tort liability in genetic counselling. Columbia Law Rev., 79, 618.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. See Calabresi, G. (1970) The Costs of Accidents, Yale University Press, New Haven.

    Google Scholar 

  24. See Becker v. Schwartz 386 NE 2d 807 (NY, 1978).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Discussed in Steinbock, B. (1986) The logical case for ‘wrongful life’. Hastings Center Rep., April, 16, 15.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Schwartz, W.B. and Komesar, N.K. (1978) Doctors, damages and deterrence: an economic view of medical malpractice. New Engl. J. Med., 298, 1281.

    Google Scholar 

  27. See Danzon, P. (1983) An economic analysis of the medical malpractice system. Behav. Sci. Law, 1, 39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. For example, Kronick, J. (1979) Community responsibility for accident victims. Hastings Center Rep., May, 9, 11.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Institute of Medicine (Division of Legal, Ethical and Educational Aspects of Health) (1978) Beyond malpractice: compensation for medical injuries; a policy analysis, Academy of Sciences, Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Golbus, M.S., Loughman, W.D., Epstein, C.J. et al. (1979) Prenatal genetic diagnosis in 3000 amniocenteses. New Engl. J. Med., 300, 157.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Editorial comment (1979) Prenatal diagnosis of Down’s syndrome. JAMA, 242, 2326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. 404 A 2d 8(NJ, 1979).

    Google Scholar 

  33. For example, In re Quinlan 355 A 2d 647 (NJ, 1976), cert. denied sub nom. Karger v. New Jersey 429 US 922 (1976).

    Google Scholar 

  34. For example, Satz v. Perlmutter 362 So 2d 160 (Fla., 1978).

    Google Scholar 

  35. For example, California Natural Death Act, Cal. Health & Safety Code 7186-95 (West supp. 1977); Ark. Stat. Ann. 82-3801 et seq. Generally, Comment (1979) The California Natural Death Act: an empirical study of physicians’ practices. Stanford Law Rev., 31, 913.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Shaw, M. (1977) Ethical issues in pediatric surgery: a national survey of pediatricians and pediatric surgeons. Pediatrics, 60, 588.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Rhoden, N. (1985) Treatment dilemmas for imperiled newborns: why quality counts. South. Calif. Law Rev., 58, 1283.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Shapiro, M.H. and Spece, R.G. (1981) Bioethics and the Law, West, St Paul, p. 471.

    Google Scholar 

  39. See, generally, Calabresi, G. and Bobbitt, P. (1978) Tragic Choices, Norton, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Others have noted the negative weight conveyed by the attachment of the phrase ‘wrongful life’ to the child’s cause of action. See Capron, ref. 22; Furrow, ref. 1; Mason, J.K. and McCall Smith, R.A. (1987) Law and Medical Ethics, 2nd edn, Butterworths, London, p. 100.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Healy, J. (1980) The legal obligations of genetic counselors, in Milusky, A. and Annas, G. (eds) (1980) Genetics and the Law, 2nd edn, Plenum, New York, p. 131.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Per Andreen, J., dissenting, in Turpin at p. 135.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Feinberg, J. (1984) Harm to Others, Oxford University Press, Oxford, p. 101.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Annas, G.J. (1981) Righting the wrong of ‘wrongful life’. Hastings Center Rep., January, 11, 8.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Barry R. Furrow
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law, Old College, University of Edinburgh, South Bridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH89YL

    J. K. Mason CBE, MD, LLD, FRCPath, DMJ (Professor of Forensic Medicine and Honorary Fellow) (Professor of Forensic Medicine and Honorary Fellow)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1989 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Furrow, B.R. (1989). Actions for wrongful life. In: Mason, J.K. (eds) Paediatric Forensic Medicine and Pathology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7160-9_26

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7160-9_26

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-412-29160-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-7160-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation