Posted on 03/09/2012 12:16:53 PM PST by SeekAndFind
On the June 2007 day their daughter was born, Ariel and Deborah Levy were overcome with excitement, then shock when hospital staff told them their daughter looked like she had Down syndrome.
A doctor asked Deborah Levy if she'd had a prenatal test -- a chorionic villus sampling, or CVS for short -- and Levy said yes, the results showed they'd have a normal, healthy child.
Within days of her birth, however, blood test confirmed that the little girl, Kalanit, had Down syndrome.
The Levys filed suit against Legacy Health, claiming that Deborah Levy would have aborted her pregnancy had she known her daughter had the chromosomal abnormality. The lawsuit blames Legacy's Center for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in North Portland and a Legacy lab for allegedly botching the test. The Levys -- who dearly love their daughter, now 4 -- want Legacy to pay for extra life-time costs of caring for her. That is estimated at about $3 million.
This afternoon, after nine days of trial in a downtown Portland courtroom, 12 jurors began deliberating in a case that gets to the core of how we view and value a life, and asks who should have to pay when that life is less than optimal. Experts say such "wrongful birth" cases are extraordinarily rare nationwide, for one, because prenatal tests such as the CVS are as much as 99.7 percent accurate and when they fail, few parents are willing to endure the scrutiny of a legal challenge. But wrongful birth lawsuits may be becoming more common as technology advances, more women in their late 30s or 40s give birth and millions of expectant mothers come to rely on genetic screenings.
Internet commenters have assailed the couple as heartless. The Levys' attorney, David K. Miller, said the couple has received death threats.
(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
The Levys should take it up with their rabbi.
“Everything in your life is meant for you”—my rabbi.
Thanks for the info, I admit I didn’t read the entire thing - I find it heartbreaking and vile.
Thanks, I didn’t know that as I have a niece named Ariel.
I detest wrongful life suits. Stick me on a jury for one of those cases and nobody’s getting a dime.
Reminder to myself to check back and see what verdict the jury returns.
I am so disgusted by these parents I want to vomit.
Just a couple of murderous hoodlums out to get rich. These people should be blessing every day they have with this precious child.
I couldn't find it online, but it's in today's print edition.
Welcome to Oregon, home of Death with Dignity, where government is responsible for everything (or should be)
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