Doctor must pay for "wrongful birth". (News in Brief).Vancouver--"Wrongful birth A Medical Malpractice claim brought by the parents of a child born with birth defects, alleging that negligent treatment or advice deprived them of the opportunity to avoid conception or terminate the pregnancy. " suits have now come to Canada and are being successfully pursued in the courts. On January 20, 2003, Dr. Ken Kan of Richmond, B.C., was ordered to pay around $300,000 in negligence damages to a now-separated couple following the 1997 birth of their Down syndrome Down syndrome, congenital disorder characterized by mild to severe mental retardation, slow physical development, and characteristic physical features. Down syndrome affects about 1 in every 730 live births and occurs in all populations equally. daughter. The negligence consisted in the doctor's failing to ensure that the mother, Lydia Zhang, received an amniocentesis amniocentesis (ăm'nēō'sĕntē`sĭs), diagnostic procedure in which a sample of the amniotic fluid surrounding a fetus is removed from the uterus by means of a fine needle inserted through the abdomen of the pregnant woman (see test. Ms. Zhang indicated that, had the test shown any evidence of genetic defect, she would have aborted a·bort v. a·bort·ed, a·bort·ing, a·borts v.intr. 1. To give birth prematurely or before term; miscarry. 2. To cease growth before full development or maturation. 3. the baby. The couple have now divorced. Simon Fung, the father, now lives in L.A., with his daughter Sherry, and children from a second marriage. He was awarded $193,000 U.S., to cover Sherry's future care. Lydia Zhang, who rarely sees Sherry, and has "virtually disowned dis·own tr.v. dis·owned, dis·own·ing, dis·owns To refuse to acknowledge or accept as one's own; repudiate. her" received $10,000 damages for pain and suffering. The B.C. Supreme Court judge hearing the case restricted the parents' damages to 50%, ruling that they should have found another doctor to conduct the test. The parents are considering an appeal. In addition to pro-life groups, advocates for the disabled have also condemned con·demn tr.v. con·demned, con·demn·ing, con·demns 1. To express strong disapproval of: condemned the needless waste of food. 2. this decision. Said Elizabeth Dolman of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society, "that connection between the syndrome and abortion...devalues people with Down syndrome and suggests that their lives aren't worth living." Dr. Will Johnston of Canadian Physicians for Life, noting the dangers of amniocentesis, said that British statistics showed that 400 healthy babies had died in one year there as a result of this procedure. |
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