‘Wrongful birth’ law is not the right policy
Texas Senate Bill 25, currently being sent to the House, is a horrible policy rooted in good intentions. SB 25 prevents parents from suing their physician if their child is born with abnormalities or severe health conditions — even if those are discovered during the pregnancy and hidden from the parents.
As it is currently on the books, parents can file a “wrongful birth” claim against their doctor if they can make the case that they were not properly warned about severe health conditions. In legal terms, “wrongful birth” would no longer be a cause of action in malpractice suits.
The concept is clear: Given disproportionately-high abortion rates for fetuses with abnormalities and disabilities (such as Down Syndrome), some physicians and Texas legislators are attempting to curb that trend. If you simply hide medical knowledge about severe health conditions then parents are less likely to terminate the pregnancy, or so the thought goes.
Although these conditions — and subsequent lawsuits — occur rarely, it’s worth considering whether this will improve medical care or serve as a veiled measure to restrict and reduce abortion. I find it horribly sad to watch the Down Syndrome population decline rapidly as expectant parents choose abortion instead of raising a child with unique needs, but this bill isn’t the way to change that cultural problem.
Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, who authored the bill, argues that SB 25, “does not permit a physician to lie…[or] decrease a physician’s standards of care or responsibilities, period .” Representatives of NARAL Pro-Choice America, on the other hand, beg to differ, asserting that “SB 25 would allow doctors to lie to their patients.”
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle: While the legislation doesn’t exempt doctors from potentially having their medical licensing stripped away if they willfully mislead patients, it certainly muddles their motives. If this bill passes, doctors will have less incentive to provide full medical disclosure, as the proposed law would lower the legal stakes for them.
The consequences of this bill are glaringly obvious: With less knowledge comes less ability to prepare. Having a child with a disability or severe medical issue certainly requires great emotional strength, increased attention, specific knowledge and a great deal of financial planning. Early detection of abnormalities can help parents become more prepared to take on the unique challenges that will persist throughout their child’s life. To deny parents the ability to prepare is not only short-sighted, but has potential to harm the child’s development if the parents cannot anticipate needs and adjust accordingly.
Even for those who want truly compassionate pro-life policy, SB 25 is a bad approach. If we actually care about helping disabled children have the best possible quality of life, their parents need full information, and physicians need to foster healthy, honest dialogue where patients don’t have to worry about physicians’ individual morality getting in the way of medical care. Incentivizing informationwithholding in the medical industry is a ludicrous idea. And worse, this doesn’t help children in need have the best possible chance at success.
I desperately hope Texas Republicans will pursue policies that actually help families prepare for challenging situations and don’t make it easier for doctors to engage in unethical practices. Reducing medical information isn’t the right way to handle complex ethical issues and will only hurt Texas families.