Lawmakers slammed the wrongful birth law in Texas, stating that it can potentially cause doctors to lie. The law reportedly allowed mothers that are pregnant with a child diagnosed with birth defects to abolish their pregnancy.
A mother, who was placed in the center of the wrongful birth issue, voiced out her claims by stating that the lawmakers who opposed the law didn't even both check on the family's condition. Dortha Biggs opened up about the struggle she and her 48-year-old daughter went through. Briggs' daughter, Leslie was affected when Dortha was struck with rubella when she was two-and-a-half weeks pregnant.
Since Leslie's birth, the only thing that her mother hoped for was to speak, which is close to impossible as she is confined to a wheelchair without the capability to perform even the basic motor and verbal skills. Dortha once spoke about her difficulty, stating that if she had known that her daughter would suffer, she would have terminated the pregnancy.
She then sued her doctor explaining that he misdiagnosed her condition. They eventually reached a $120,000 settlement, according to CNN.
With the heightened argument, lawmakers are still highly against the wrongful birth lawsuit. They even point out that there is no such thing as wrongful birth in the first place.
"The presence of a disability in a child should not be grounds for a lawsuit," Sen. Brandon Creighton told his colleagues. "It sends the message that there are births that are wrongful. There are no wrongful births."
An additional report stated that a bill that is bound to eliminate the wrongful birth law is creating a negative impact on people with disability, as per Bustle. The bill to abolish wrongful birth reiterated the view that families cannot sue their doctors for withholding information regarding their child's condition while inside the womb.
"A cause of action may not arise, and damages may not be awarded, on behalf of any person, based on the claim that but for the act or omission of another, a person would not have been permitted to have been born alive but would have been aborted," part of the bill read.
