Medical Legal Issues in Prenatal Diagnosis

The capacity to diagnose fetal disease or abnormality continues to grow, especially in the genetic definition of the fetus. With this growth have come claims of medical malpractice that have mostly centered on a failure of informed consent. Failure may occur by omission or failed communication of pertinent information to the parents or by alleged error in the interpretation of diagnostic information. The usual claim against a physician or other provider is not that of causing damage or disease in the fetus but of causing a loss of opportunity to prevent conception or live birth of an infant who has an abnormality. Successful suits for “wrongful birth,” brought by parents of an abnormal child, are common in many United States jurisdictions, but suits for “wrongful life,” brought on behalf of the child, have usually been denied.