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Court awards damages to disabled child for having been born
BMJ 2003; 326 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.326.7393.784/b (Published 12 April 2003) Cite this as: BMJ 2003;326:784- Tony Sheldon
- Utrecht
For the first time in the Netherlands, a court has awarded damages to a severely disabled girl for the fact that she was born—a so called “wrongful life” judgment.
The case of 9 year old Kelly Molenaar has led MPs to call for the Netherlands to follow France and ban damage claims for wrongful life. Doctors fear the judgment could lead to a sharp increase in defensive prenatal testing.
A court in The Hague heard how Kelly's parents had informed a midwife at the Leiden University Medical …
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