Wrongful birth and the politics of reproduction: West German and English law considered

This article considers the law relating to compensation in tort and contract for failed sterilizations and failed abortions leading to the birth of an unplanned but healthy child in the Federal Republic of Germany and England. It uses a policy-based analysis which takes the social construction of gender as a significant factor in judicial decision making. It criticizes existing literature for failing to take into account gender divisions in society and points to ways in which both the framework within which wrongful birth cases are discussed generally and the limitations which have been placed on recovery specifically reflect gender stereotyped notions of female and male behaviour and sexuality. I conclude that there are three main areas of concern in the wrongful birth cases: a) the inadequate recognition which the law accords to women's work in the home when awarding damages for maintenance of the unplanned child to majority; b) the awarding damages exercised by the politics of abortion, which can lead to undue restrictions on recovery; and c) the difficulties which the law experiences when attempting to conceptualize an interference in a woman's procreative autonomy in the same terms as an interference in a typically 'male' sphere of life, such as professional autonomy. Thus there is an urgent need to reconsider the categories of the law of obligations such as 'damage' and 'compensation', which are central to the principle of individual responsibility for harm caused, in order to reveal their gendered content and differential effects.     

The risk of birth defects: Jacobs v. Theimer and parents' right to know.

This Article discusses the Texas Supreme Court's holding in Jacobs v. Theimer that the parents of a defective child had a cause of action for damages against a physician for alleged negligent failure to inform the mother during pregnancy that she had contracted rubella and therefore might have a defective child, thereby causing her to lose the opportunity to have an abortion. The Article raises a number of questions that post-Jacobs courts probably will confront concerning the duty of physicians and genetic counselors to keep their clients informed; describes some social and medical developments--including recent progress in medical genetics and prenatal diagnosis--which are likely to make Jacobs a significant precedent; evaluates the court's decision to allow a damage suit only for the costs of treating and caring for the child's defects; and briefly addresses the question of whether the Jacobs case comes within the sphere of suits for what has come to be known as "wrongful birth" and "wrongful life."     

Antipsychotic Use and Foster Care Placement Stability Among Youth With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity/ Disruptive Behavior Disorders

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between antipsychotic initiation and placement transitions among youth in foster care with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other disruptive behavior disorders (ADHD/DBD). Data were obtained from child welfare administrative records and Medicaid claims in one Mid-Atlantic state from January 1, 2010, through March 31, 2014. Cox proportional hazard model was conducted to estimate the risk of time to first placement transition during the 180-day follow-up among new antipsychotic users and propensity score matched nonusers. Results showed youth initiating antipsychotics had no significant reduction in foster placement transitions within the 180-day follow up (Hazard Ratio = 1.1; 95% CI = 0.7–1.6). Although antipsychotics are widely used for aggressive behaviors, a better understanding of clinical management of youth in foster care is needed to promote stable foster placement.     

National study comparing the characteristics of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia who committed homicide vs. those who died by suicide

Associations between serious mental disorder and violence are well-documented, but there is little epidemiological evidence linking these disorders and homicide risk. The reported study compares socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of people diagnosed with schizophrenia who committed homicide vs. those who died by suicide. The study is a national case series of male patients in England & Wales diagnosed with schizophrenia and convicted of homicide during 1997–2012 (n = 168), and a randomly selected comparison group of male patients with schizophrenia who died by suicide and who were matched to the homicide case series by age (n = 777). There are different patterns of behaviour in people with schizophrenia preceding homicide and suicide. Homicide perpetrators have frequently disengaged with services whilst patients who die by suicide are often in recent contact. This is important knowledge for clinical services as it indicates a different preventive emphasis despite the existence of other shared characteristics.