A recent article in the Herald Sun reports that two Victorian couples are suing their doctors for failing to diagnose Down Syndrome in their unborn babies.
According to the report, both couples claim that they would have aborted their children had they known that their children would be born with Down Syndrome.
The article quotes Maurice Blackburn lawyer Kathryn Booth. “NSW, SA and Tasmania have legislated against such claims. But in Victoria, people can sue for compensation for the continuing costs of raising a child to the age of 18, where the child was born as a result of negligent care”, she said.
If the 200-odd comments posted under the online story are anything to go by, Australians have more sympathy for the children and the doctors, than for the parents.
Many of the comments point out that parents shouldn’t conceive if they aren’t prepared to accept the risk that their child might not be ‘perfect’. They also point out the dangers of a eugenic culture where we demand our children be ‘made to order’ and cull those who don’t make the grade.
Others point out the inevitable response from a medical profession which must increasingly practice to avoid litigation, rather than providing the best possible care.
Astoundingly, one of the parents taking legal action speaks about his daughter, who is now 4 years old: "Don't get us wrong: we love our daughter. She's part of our family, and we treat her like gold."
Lets get this straight – he loves her, but given the opportunity he would have killed her. More than that, he is so upset about not having been able to kill her, that he is willing to bring legal action.
Something doesn’t add up.
It’s a good thing the girl in question can not understand the nature of the legal action.
A couple of the comments online speak louder than the others. These speak about the great joy of raising a special child with a disability.
This brings us a little closer to the heart of the issue. Once we, as a nation, decide that our unborn children have no inherent right to their own lives, we open up a Pandora’s box of competing rights that doesn’t lead to freedom, but to greed, fear, and loss.
Comments by Nicholas Tonti-Filippini, associate professor of the John Paul II Institute, have also been published in the Herald Sun.
Social commentator, Bill Muehlenberg has also posted some insightful comments on his CultureWatch website.
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