Here is the abstract:
The central behavioral claim in Wrongful Life actions is that a mother would have chosen to have a therapeutic abortion rather than given birth to a severely impaired child. Wrongful Life actions are brought by or on behalf of infant-plaintiffs who are suing the physicians who allegedly negligently allowed them to be born by failing to provide the mother with sufficient information about the health of her fetus while she was still legally able to terminate the pregnancy. Social psychological models of health behavior and evolutionary theory, including inclusive fitness, parental investment, the theory of reasoned action, and the theory of planned behavior, are addressed to assess the claim that a child, due to its severe defects, could be better off dead and that the mother would have willingly terminated the pregnancy if full information was disclosed. These theories ultimately support the behavioral claims made in Wrongful Life actions.
Springer’s paper can be downloaded here.
