Re: South Carolina Supreme Court Dismisses 'Wrongful Life' Lawsuit on Behalf of Boy With Hydrocephalus
From: Robert J. Carpenter, Jr. MD (zygote@icsi.net)
Thu Dec 23 16:57:30 2004
Both NY and NJ have in the past several years clearly expressed the opinion that
failure to inform adequatley is a cause of action. Not knowing the facts of the case
one can only suspect that the documentation in the MD chart is not good and it will
the frequent "he said, she said" matter.
On 22 Dec 2004 at 12:59, art fougner, md wrote:
> Thank God this case was not tried in the Peoples' Republic of
> Brooklyn.
>
> art
>
> At Wed, 22 Dec 2004, art fougner, md wrote:
> >
> >..
> >
> >South Carolina Supreme Court Dismisses 'Wrongful Life' Lawsuit on
> >Behalf of Boy With Hydrocephalus
> >
> >Access this story and related links online:
> >
> >http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=27363
> >
> >The South Carolina Supreme Court on Monday unanimously dismissed a
> >"wrongful life" lawsuit filed by a woman who claimed she was denied
> >the choice to abort her son because she was not told he had maximal
> >hydrocephalus, the Columbia State reports.
> >
> >Jennie Willis, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of her now
> >eight-year-old son, said she would have legally aborted the fetus had
> >she known during her pregnancy of the condition, which is
> >characterized by excess fluid in the head and the absence of cerebral
> >hemispheres that control thinking, speaking and motor control,
> >according to the State. In court papers, Willis said that Dr. Donald
> >Wu, an OB/GYN, in 1995 failed to tell her about the condition before
> >the state's 24 weeks gestation limit for legal abortion. Wu claimed
> >in court papers that he alerted Willis to a potential problem with
> >the pregnancy after a third ultrasound at 22 weeks gestation and
> >ordered her to undergo tests by a specialist, which she did not do
> >(Brundrett, Columbia State, 12/21). The court said although it
> >recognized the "extremely severe nature" of the child's disability,
> >it would not accept the wrongful life claim, the AP/Fox Carolina
> >reports.
> >
> >"Even a jury collectively imbued with the wisdom of Solomon would be
> >unable to weigh the fact of being born with a defective condition
> >against the fact of not being born at all," Associate Justice E.C.
> >Burnett wrote for the court, adding, "It is simply beyond the human
> >experience." South Carolina, along with 27 other states, have either
> >rejected or limited wrongful life claims, meaning children born with
> >disabilities cannot sue doctors for failing to inform pregnant women
> >about their conditions, the court said, according to the AP/Fox
> >Carolina. Willis plans to pursue a separate suit claiming that Wu did
> >not inform her of the condition, according to the AP/Fox Carolina.
> >The Supreme Court did not rule on that issue on Monday (AP/Fox
> >Carolina, 12/21).
>
> --
> art fougner, md
> ich bin ein New Yorker
>
--
Robert J. Carpenter, Jr. MD
6624 Fannin, #2720
St. Luke's Medical Tower
Houston,TX 77030-2339
713-795-4600
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