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Parents Sue Doctor For Not Testing Baby For Spina Bifida
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
September 14, 2004

YORBA LINDA, CALIFORNIA--When Leilani Duff was born Aug. 29, 2003, her parents learned that her spinal cord was exposed -- a condition known as spina bifida.

They later learned that she would likely be paralyzed below her knees, and that she might have learning difficulties.

Now Colleen Duff and Dan Fraker are suing the mother's obstetrician, Dr. William Dieterich, claiming the doctor failed to tell them about a state-mandated screening that would have tested for conditions such as spina bifida while Colleen was pregnant.

If they had known, they likely would have aborted Leilani, their attorney told the Los Angeles Times.

Lawsuits such as the one over baby Duff are happening more often in the U.S., because pre-natal screening is becoming more sophisticated -- and required in some states -- along with climbing costs in health care and an increasing desire of parents to control their babies' characteristics.

The suits are also causing more doctors to recommend abortion in cases where there is any doubt that the child will not be "perfect", explained one doctor.

"On one side you have a liability mess that puts you on the hook for the rest of the child's life," said Dr. T. Murphy Goodwin, chief of maternal-fetal medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine.

"The other side, you have carte blanche to avoid the potential for these kinds of problems by shading the discussion to advocate abortion. There's almost no adverse reaction if a doctor tells someone to terminate a pregnancy based on faulty information."

Related:
"If Only We'd Known, Parents Say" (Los Angeles Times)
"'Wrongful Birth' Lawsuits" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)

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