Wrongful birth, wrongful life: the doctor between a rock and a hard place

Obstet Gynecol. 1985 Nov;66(5):719-22.

Abstract

Recent court decisions and advances in medical technology have put the doctor in the position of serving many masters at the same time. The conflicts created often do not deal with good or bad medicine, but rather with the concept of alternative choices. It is unfair to ask the medical field to be solely responsible for making decisions involving such widespread social and economic consequences.

MeSH terms

  • Amniocentesis
  • Confidentiality / legislation & jurisprudence
  • Congenital Abnormalities*
  • Disclosure*
  • Female
  • Gynecology*
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Informed Consent / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Malpractice / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Maternal Age
  • Obstetrics* / standards
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy, High-Risk
  • Pregnant Women
  • Risk
  • United States
  • alpha-Fetoproteins / analysis

Substances

  • alpha-Fetoproteins