The Perruche judgment and the "right not to be born".
The French government has given in to public pressure and overturned a controversial legal ruling which recognised the right of a disabled child to seek damages. Most notably, the ruling, widely described as establishing a child's right "not to be born", had provoked "outrage" amongst groups defending the rights of the disabled and led to a ban on prenatal scans by French gynaecologists. Once again, only parents will be able to seek damages but some people think the ruling has been misinterpreted.
Spriggs
M
M
Ethics Program, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Childrens Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia. spriggsm@murdoch.rch.unimelb.edu.au
Savulescu
J
J
D002648:Child; D003657:Decision Making; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D026690:Ethics, Clinical; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases; D005602:France; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007600:Judgment; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis