"Wrongful Births" - Would You Make The Cut? Should You Have Been Born?

A West Palm Beach, Fl. jury has awarded $4.5 million to the parents of a child born with no arms and only one leg. Claiming that had they known of their child's disabilities, before hand, they would have aborted him, they filed suit against obstetrician Dr. Marie Morel and an ultrasound technician, for failing to properly read sonograms. On December 6, 2010, the Brussels Court of Appeal in Belgium, ruled that parents may sue physicians who fail to diagnose "serious disabilities" of pre-born children, under the understanding that prior parental knowledge of a child's disability, would afford the parents the opportunity to abort if they so choose. In Tampa Florida, another judge awarded $21 million, to another couple on July 24, 2007, for "wrongful birth" of their second handicapped son. The Tampa Bay Tribune reported that the couple would have aborted the child, if they'd had prior knowledge of his disability.

And so on and so on it goes, since pre-natal testing and legal abortion have combined around the world to create the new legal action of "wrongful birth" lawsuits. In such cases, a doctor or hospital may be sued by parents for failing to warn them that their child will be disabled, or failing to recommend abortion. The damages are purported to be for the child's medical bills and psychological counseling for it's parents. There are also "wrongful life" suits in which a child, or it's representative can sue the doctor for lifelong support.

Lynda Bell of Florida Right to Life commented, "How bizarre that in our nation, not only have we become a throw-away generation, including our babies that are not perfect, but that now we're holding doctors responsible to deliver a perfect baby." She went on to state, "Doctors may feel that they have a responsibility to lead people to abortion just so there's not a lawsuit." Part of another of her statement's reads, "I think there's a very fine line between a negligent physician and having him being responsible for an unborn child, whether or not it is perfect." "Doctors are not god," she said, "they're physicians."

And what of the children for whom these lawsuits were awarded? What will they think when they grow up? Ana Mejia testified that she would have had her son killed in her womb, by abortion, had she been told that he had no arms and only one leg. Her son Bryan is not mentally incapacitated, so one day he will be able to fully comprehend that the money awarded his parents, was compensation for not being able to abort him before he was born. I wonder how that will make him feel?

If ... according to the courts ... doctors are responsible for "wrongful births", then how many of the rest of us might have been able to sue our doctors for some physical deficit we feel we may have been born with? How many of the rest of us who do not meet today's standards of perfection, should have been born? Ask yourself ... if by today's standards you would have made the cut?

Nick Vujicic was born in Brisbane, Australia in 1982 with no arms and no legs. He went on to earn a double Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Financial Planning, and is a world renowned motivational speaker. In his new autobiography, "Life without Limits", Nick tells his story of struggling with bullying, thoughts of suicide, and the unique situation of facing life without arms or legs. His inspiring story, tells of how he rose above these circumstances, and even accomplished more without limbs, than he could have with them. He has been an inspiration to millions of people of what it means to value human life in all forms.

But then when you consider, that even a perfectly healthy child in the womb can be exterminated by the choice of it's own mother, it's just a short walk around the corner to exterminating the so called "imperfect" child in the womb ... and demanding that a doctor facilitate that option.

I recently had to have a mother-daughter talk with my 23 yrs old daughter, who was experiencing the hardship of female jealousy. Because she was born with physical beauty, she has been having to learn how to navigate this mine field of female jealousy. I had to explain to her, how none of us chooses how we are physically made. And how many times, those girls who are not born with the comely features such as girls who are prettier than them, can many times suffer extreme insecurities, which then cause them to resent another who seems to enjoy that which they feel they have been denied. And even pretty girls can feel insecure. Do the parents of these disabled children have insecurities? We look at others many times, and project our own insecurities on them. And parents who would rather abort a handicapped child, than give it life, are simply projecting their own insecurities on their child. A child, who, in spite of his or her handicap, may very well grow up to be as accomplished as any other child, and have a much better sense of him or herself than many others.

How do we look at ourselves and others? Do we measure ourselves and others, with the measuring stick of perfection? If we can write off someone else as imperfect, including our own child, who may write us off one day?