Glossary

"Wrongful birth claims arise when parents assert that they were under the mistaken impression that their pregnancy was normal, because their physician told them incorrectly that there was no risk to the fetus, because the physician failed to inform them about available tests or known risks, or because tests were performed incorrectly or too late. . . . Suits for wrongful life are brought by or on behalf of a child born with inherited or acquired abnormalities that could have been predicted before conception or detected during the prenatal period. The plaintiff/child may claim that he or she would have been better not to be born at all rather than to be born with defects to endure suffering and pain. Alternatively, the child may claim that his or her damages should be measured by comparing his or her compromised life with the life of a normal child." (EW Clayton, "Medicolegal Aspects of Prenatal Diagnosis," in Genetic Disorders and the Fetus: Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment, 7th ed., Aubrey Milunsky and Jeff M. Milunsky, eds. John Wiley & Sons, 2016).