Kass M, Shaw M W
Am J Law Med. 1976;2(2):213-43.
This Article discusses the Texas Supreme Court's holding in Jacobs v. Theimer that the parents of a defective child had a cause of action for damages against a physician for alleged negligent failure to inform the mother during pregnancy that she had contracted rubella and therefore might have a defective child, thereby causing her to lose the opportunity to have an abortion. The Article raises a number of questions that post-Jacobs courts probably will confront concerning the duty of physicians and genetic counselors to keep their clients informed; describes some social and medical developments--including recent progress in medical genetics and prenatal diagnosis--which are likely to make Jacobs a significant precedent; evaluates the court's decision to allow a damage suit only for the costs of treating and caring for the child's defects; and briefly addresses the question of whether the Jacobs case comes within the sphere of suits for what has come to be known as "wrongful birth" and "wrongful life."
本文讨论了得克萨斯州最高法院在雅各布斯诉西默案中的判决，即有缺陷孩子的父母有权对一名医生提起损害赔偿诉讼，该医生被指控在孕期疏忽大意，未告知母亲她感染了风疹，因此可能会生下有缺陷的孩子，从而导致她失去了堕胎的机会。本文提出了一些雅各布斯案之后的法院可能会面临的问题，这些问题涉及医生和遗传咨询师让客户了解情况的义务；描述了一些社会和医学发展情况——包括医学遗传学和产前诊断方面的最新进展——这些进展可能会使雅各布斯案成为一个重要的先例；评估了法院仅允许就治疗和照顾孩子缺陷的费用提起损害赔偿诉讼的决定；并简要探讨了雅各布斯案是否属于所谓的“错误出生”和“错误生命”诉讼范畴的问题。
