Oregon couple seeks $14 million in ‘wrongful birth’ lawsuit
June 13th, 2009Doctors failed to diagnose daughter’s Down syndrome prenatally, they say
From the [Portland] Oregonian:
A Portland couple whose 2-year-old daughter was born with Down syndrome is suing their doctor for more than $14 million to cover the cost of raising her and providing education, medical care, and speech and physical therapy.
Deborah and Ariel Levy said they would have gotten an abortion if they had known that their daughter would have the condition.
The Levys declined to be interviewed. Their attorney, David K. Miller, said the toddler is as dear to them as their two older children but they fear being perceived as “heartless.”
… “They feel very strongly that what happened to them was wrong,” Miller said. “They were given incorrect information, and their lives have changed because of it.”
Ethicist Arthur Caplan said fewer than 10 such suits are filed in the U.S. each year. Some states have banned them.
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June 18th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
This is a horrible example of how litigious our society is. I am shocked by this lawsuit and really feel for this couple’s children. This is what’s wrong in the world. Some people expect their children (and other people’s children) to be born perfect and to stay that way.
God forbid the Levy’s other children develop some sort of learning disability or other special need down the road. What will they do then? Put them up for adoption? Life isn’t fair. There are no guarantees.
It’s our job to love our children as they are. My three kids are by no means “perfect.” When my youngest was born with Down syndrome, it was a complete shock to us. Did we think, even for a second, to sue the doctor who cared for me and the baby during my pregnancy? Never.
I get such joy from my daughter, and I couldn’t imagine her any other way. She’s an amazing individual and I know that she will go far in life. Anyone who doesn’t think so needs to get out of her way.
Asking for $14 million to cover costs of raising this child is absolutely ridiculous. No dollar amount can give them what they really need for their child, which is acceptance.
June 16th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Since the Levy’s don’t want their burdensome daughter, I’ll take her. My son with DS is so precious to me, my family, and our entire community that my biggest fear in life is that something will happen to him.
Note to Deborah and Ariel Levy & Attorney David K. Miller- you can keep the money. Obviously it’s very important to you. God or Mammon. Life or Death. It’s extraordinarily sad that in both cases you would chose the latter.
June 15th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
As a mother of a boy with Down syndrome the same age as their daughter I am appalled at their stance. I look at my son as a total blessing. Yes caring for them can be costly at times but they are going about it the complete wrong way. I had screening done when I was pregnant and everything came back normal as well; however, suing the medical system wasn’t even a consideration because I had done research after his birth and knew the tests aren’t going to be 100% accurate. I am honored to have my son and consider myself lucky.
Even though I think it will be impossible, but I hope their daughter will never read about this case because I can’t even imagine the pain it would cause her. To think that the father is also suing for the way the child has affected his relationship with his wife! It is very sad that people can be so self-centered.
June 15th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
How repulsively money-grubbing. These people have absolutely no morals and certainly don’t deserve their daughter.
As for needing that much money to raise and educate their daughter: this is nothing to do with her and everything to do with their own greed.
Reprehensible. I hope their daughter divorces them, gets the money as a settlement and then buys a pair of decent parents.
June 15th, 2009 at 3:37 am
I agree, Scott. If the Levy’s only knew that what we find most disturbing is their own perception (and definition) of “human life.”
June 14th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
As for these parents, I feel so sorry for the child having them. Certainly one day she will realize that her parents didn’t want her. What a crushing, horrible blow to a child. She deserves so much better.
I’m sure the Levy older children see (or will realize in the future) that they wouldn’t have been wanted either if anything had been detected in them prenatally. I would think that the “typical” children would be scared that their parents would wish them never born, too, if an accident or disease now happened to them that would cause them to need extra care. Such a selfish couple.
What is ironic is that they see “the imperfection” of their own child, but don’t see the imperfections in themselves. Sad, sad sad.
June 14th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
The total in this case being asked for is 21 million .It raises a lot of strong feelings and questions.
We presented at grand rounds at Oregon Health Science University last week on genetic testing.Karen Gaffney was part of our group presenting and her last line was, “It’s hard enough living in our society with Down syndrome without having to pass a test to be born.”
The Brownback Kennedy bill needs real partnerships and real work to be done by the hospitals in collaboration with DS groups to get closer to best practices. The work of the Down syndrome caucus, NDSS and others at national level needs to be embraced by the ethics departments of teaching hospitals. We and many other groups are ready with information and resources that are vital to the notion of informed decision making.
We at NWDSA have been working on this issue for over three years and it is hard to be heard by the medical community at times.We are concerned about the tyranny of perfection at the heart of this.
There was a great deal of debate in Oregon when the “death with dignity” bill passed, there has been little examination of the repercussions of universal testing for a growing list of genetic tests starting with Down syndrome.
We know there are good doctors and nurses who want current information and resources and also that the value of a life cannot be explored with only medical information and in a few minutes. Our partnerships with genetic counselors and others reveal areas of agreement and shared concerns.
There is evidence about the gaps and need for better training, its time to act on this now, and not just for the sake of the Down syndrome community.
Angela Jarvis-Holland
nwdsa.org
June 14th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Wow, that is horrible. I wonder if these people would have had their daughter terminated post-birth if it were legal…
And just think about what this is saying to their two older children… “We love you both so much (just like we love your little sister) but if you had a birth defect (or maybe if you develop a problem) we would wish we would have known in utero so that we could have killed you. Good night now, sweet dreams.”
June 13th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
This story is equally embarassing and maddening.
It seems to me that the only wrongful births in this family were Deborah and Ariel Levy.
I wonder what they say to their daughter when they tuck her in at night: “We love you honey, but we wish you had never been born. By the way, we would’ve killed you if we knew you had Down syndrome.”