Utah court upholds ban on lawsuits for "wrongful life"

But two of five justices said a claim tied to genetic counseling is really a medical malpractice case.

By Tanya Albert, AMNews staff. Feb. 3, 2003.

Utah is the latest state to grapple with whether wrongful life lawsuits can go forward in court. Physicians or other health professionals there who misinterpret prenatal genetic screening tests will be protected from claims parents bring if a child is born with a genetic problem.

In a 3-2 decision, the Utah Supreme Court upheld the state's Wrongful Life Act, which prohibits someone from suing because they would have aborted a fetus if it weren't "for the act or omission of another person."

Some parents say the law discourages genetic testing and gives physicians who oppose abortion protection from lawsuits if they choose not to disclose a genetic abnormality that they believe could cause a woman to terminate her pregnancy.

But some physicians say the protection is needed because there could be broad differences in what parents consider vital information about the health of their fetus. Also, it is difficult to know how parents really would have reacted if they had the information before a child was born.

"They can say: 'But for this information we would have aborted the fetus,' " said R. Chet Loftis, general counsel for the Utah Medical Assn. "But there is no way to check that statement."

Some state courts, including those in Delaware, Kansas and Washington, have recognized a cause of action in wrongful life cases. Utah is one of at least nine states that have laws barring lawsuits for wrongful birth or wrongful life claims. Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and South Dakota also passed such statutes in the 1990s.