PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 15586987

Actions for wrongful birth and wrongful life.

J Seymour
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

This paper discusses wrongful birth and wrongful life actions taken under the common law of negligence in the United States, Canada, England and Australia. The paper explains the nature of the actions and offers comments on the legal and ethical issues. In particular, it considers the problem of identifying the harm suffered by the parents of an unwanted child and explores some of the questions posed by the law's attempts to assign responsibility following the birth of a normal or a disabled child.

Explore related subjects

Abortion, InducedAustraliaCanadaDiagnostic ErrorsDisclosureEnglandFemaleHumansLiability, LegalPregnancySterilization, TubalUnited StatesWrongful LifeGenetics and ReproductionLegal ApproachJournal Article

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

J Seymour. 2001. Actions for wrongful birth and wrongful life.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15586987/

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2007

Late human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) proteins inhibit differentiation of human neural precursor cells into astrocytes.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most common cause of congenital infections in developed countries, with an incidence varying between 0.5-2.2%. Such infection may be the consequence of either a primary infection or reactivation of a latent infection in the mother and the outcome may vary from asymptomatic to severe brain disorders. Moreover, infants that are asymptomatic at the time of birth may still develop neurologic sequelae at a later age. Our hypothesis is that infection of stem cells of the central nervous system by HCMV alters the proliferation, differentiation or migration of these cells, and thereby gives rise to the brain abnormalities observed. We show that infection of human neural precursor cells (NPCs) with the laboratory strain Towne or the clinical isolate TB40 of HCMV suppresses the differentiation of these cells into astrocytes even at an multiplicity of infection (MOI) as low as 0.1 (by 33% and 67%, respectively). This inhibition required active viral replication and the expression of late HCMV proteins. Infection as late as 24 hr after the onset of differentiation, but not after 72 hr, also prevented the maturation of infected cultures. Furthermore, in cultures infected with TB40 (at an MOI of 1), approximately 54% of the cells were apoptotic and cell proliferation was significantly attenuated. Clearly, HCMV can reduce the capacity of NPCs to differentiate into astrocytes and this effect may provide part of the explanation for the abnormalities in brain development associated with congenital HCMV infection.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed2007

New Hampshire House Bill 1719-FN. "An act defining human life as beginning at the moment of fertilization for the purposes of prenatal, pregnancy, and maternity services and programs".

Recently, the author was asked by the New Hampshire State Medical Society to testify before the State of New Hampshire's House Judiciary Committee, to address a bill that would establish the definition of when human life begins. Other states, such as South Dakota, recently passed a ban on abortion. Such legislation will severely limit a woman's ability to exercise her right to terminate her pregnancy. With the present composition of the US Supreme Court, it seems possible that in the not-too-distant future there will be a successful challenge to Roe v Wade. It is important that as health care providers we take the time to educate our public officials and general citizenry about the complexity of such issues. The subsequent editorial will paraphrase the statement that was delivered. Fortunately, the bill was defeated.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed2007

Arias-Stella reaction in upper genital tract in pregnant and non-pregnant women: a study of 120 randomly selected cases.

AIMS: 1. To study the diagnostic importance of the Arias-Stella reaction. 2. To study tubal epithelial changes in ectopic pregnancy. 3. To study the occurrence of Arias-Stella reaction in non-pregnant women receiving hormonal treatment. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted on 120 patients who underwent endometrial curettage and/or salpingectomy. The patients were divided into four groups, each comprising of 30 patients. Groups 1 and 4 included non-pregnant patients who were being evaluated for infertility and dysfunctional uterine bleeding respectively, while pregnant patients were included in Group 2 (intra-uterine abortions) and Group 3 (ectopic tubal gestation). The endometrial curettings and fallopian tube lining epithelial cells were examined for the changes described by Arias-Stella. Cases which showed the presence of the Arias-Stella reaction were further classified. RESULTS: The changes of the Arias-Stella reaction in endometrial glands were observed in 80% cases of intra-uterine abortions. Secretory/hypersecretory pattern was the most commonly observed type (36.67%). The reaction was seen in 3.33% each of patients evaluated for infertility and patients on hormonal therapy with oral progestational agents for the management of dysfunctional uterine bleeding. Although uncommon, the Arias-Stella reaction was noted in the epithelium of fallopian tubes (16.67%) from patients with ectopic tubal gestation. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study emphasize the diagnostic importance of the Arias-Stella reaction. The changes of the reaction are a histological clue to the presumptive diagnosis of the presence of chorial tissue in cases in which the chorionic material is not found in the endometrial biopsy. The morphological features can be mistaken for malignancy if the pathologist is not aware of the patient's pregnancy or history of hormonal intake.

Abortion, Induced↗