PEDIATRICS Vol. 75 No. 1 January 1985, pp. 65-72
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Wrongful Life and Wrongful Birth: New Concepts for the Pediatrician

James Coplan MD1

1 From the Department of Pediatrics, State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse

Over the past two decades, numerous suits for damages have been brought against physicians for the injury of wrongful life, or wrongful birth. Within the past 5 years, several precedents have been set that broaden the physician's legal obligation to recognize and act upon foreseeable or potentially recurrent genetic, teratogenic, or chromosomal disorders. These precedents may be expected to affect all physicians, but particularly pediatricians, because of the increased frequency of such disorders in the pediatric population.

Key Words: wrongful life • wrongful birth • genetics • malpractice • ethics

Submitted on December 12, 1983
Accepted on March 22, 1984