French Court Awards Damages for "Wrongful Birth".(Brief Article)

Controversy continues to swirl over the decision of France's highest court that a child born with severe handicaps can sue for the "damages" he suffered by being born rather than aborted.

One critic of the decision said, "This is the first time that doctors have been condemned for not having killed."

The Cour de Cassation ordered a laboratory and a doctor to pay Nicholas Perruche because he was born with birth defects caused by his mother's undiagnosed case of German measles. Josette Perruche testified that she would have aborted her son had she known she had the disease, the New York Times reported.

The ruling has caused enormous controversy in France, where it has been criticized for suggesting that an unborn child has a "right" to be aborted and that his/her birth is a "mistake" for which doctors should be held accountable.

"In the two months since the ruling was upheld, politicians, philosophers and lawyers have variously argued that it is absurd, dangerous and unethical and that it will for the first time put a price on a human life," the Times reported.

In 1982, when Mrs. Perruche was one month pregnant with Nicholas, her four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with rubella (known as German measles), the Times reported.

Two blood tests to determine if Mrs. Perruche had the disease were contradictory, and she was advised to continue carrying her baby. Mrs. Perruche had told her doctor she wanted an abortion if she had German measles, according to the Times, since the disease often causes birth defects.