‘Wrongful birth’

A French appeal court has ruled that there is entitlement to damages in a case of ‘wrongful birth’. The mother of the now-17-year-old boy had been infected with German measles (rubella) early in pregnancy; her son, Nicholas Perruche, was born with devastating disabilities, including deafness, near-blindness and mental handicap. She argued that her doctors failed to detect abnormalities or advise abortion. The court held that the errors of doctor and laboratory staff had ‘prevented the mother from exercising her choice to terminate her pregnancy in order to avoid the birth of a child afflicted with a handicap’.