A South African woman has gone to the constitutional court to claim thousands of pounds in damages after a medical centre failed to diagnose her son with Down's syndrome.
The woman, identified only as Ms H. to protect the identity of her child, is arguing her son represents a "wrongful life," as she would have aborted the foetus if she had been told by the clinic it was at a high risk of having Down's syndrome.
Telegraph UK reports that the mother is seeking £368,742 in damages on behalf of her child, who has severe Down's syndrome and needs constant care, according to court documents.
Earlier this month, there was also an uproar after Australian parents were accused of abandoning one of their twins born through a surrogate mother in Thailand after the male baby was diagnosed with Down's syndrome.
Also, Richard Dawkins, a high-profile British philosopher, had caused outrage on Twitter after he tweeted that if a woman had a foetus with Down's syndrome she should: "Abort it and try again. It would be immoral to bring it into the world if you have the choice."
He later apologized, saying it was what he would do and he was not saying or forcing all mothers to do that.
Do you think this woman is right to sue her hospital?
If there is a rule in South Africa for pre-natal tests to detect and inform parents of Down's Syndrome in their fetus, then the hospital will rightly be responsible, and would have been negligent of their duties to provide complete care to the woman and her unborn child.
PS - Image is not the baby but for illustration only
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