Reproductive Self-Determinationin the Third Circuit: The Statutory Proscription of Wrongful Birth and Wrongful Life Claims as an Unconstitutional Violation of Planned parenthood v. Casey's Undue Burden Standard
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Reproductive Self-Determination in
the Third Circuit: The Statutory
Proscription of Wrongful Birth and
Wrongful Life Claims as an
Unconstitutional Violation of
Planned Parenthood v. Casey's
Undue Burden Standard
Christine Intromasso*
INTRODUCTION
Of all of the many fears and anxieties par-
ents have regarding their children, the worry
that their child may be born with a severe birth
defect is often the worst. If such a fear is real-
ized, both the parents and the child must deal
with the emotional, physical, and financial en-
cumbrances that derive from the child's birth
defect. Over the years, the medical field has
made incredible advances1 in both detection
and treatment of birth defects in unborn fe-
*J.D. Candidate, Rutgers University School of Law-
Newark, May 2003.
1. Maha F. Munayyer, Comment, Genetic Testing and
Germ-Line Manipulation: Constructing a New Language for
International Human Rights, 12 Am. U. J. Int'l L. & Pol'y
687, 688 (1997).
2. Gunjan Sinha, Operational Normal Fetus, POPULAR SCI-
ENCE, Oct. 1, 1999, at 62. Before 1997, doctors would only
operate on an unborn fetus in dire circumstances, but doctors
at Vanderbilt University Medical Center successfully per-
formed the first fetal surgery for a nonlethal disorder called
tuses.2 These advances inevitably lead to the
expectation that many genetic conditions can be
prevented or avoided by affording the doctors
the opportunity to correct the condition before
birth or giving the parents the opportunity to
make an informed choice whether to carry the
child to full-term or abort the fetus. Still, even
with the capability of diagnosing congenital
anomalies in utero, some genetic conditions
readily diagnosable go undiagnosed because of
traditional negligence by the doctor or genetic
counselor.3
spina bifida. Id. The likelihood of this type of surgery for
many types of fetal abnormalities becoming commonplace is
great. Out of forty-eight surgeries so far performed at Van-
derbilt, forty-six babies were born without complications. Id.
3. Genetic counseling is the practice of disseminating ad-
vice and information or data to potential parents by trained
medical providers about the occurrence and risk of recur-
rence of certain genetic disorders. Frank A. Chervenak et
al., Advances in the Diagnosis of Fetal Defects, 315 NEW ENG.
J. MED. 305, 307 (1986).
[Women's Rights Law Reporter, Volume 24, Number 2, Spring 2003]
© 2003 by Women's Rights Law Reporter, Rutgers-The State University
0085-8269/80/0908](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/worts24&div=14&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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