“Physically-Challenged Person Has a Right Not to Be Born“

`The congenital physically-challenged person has a right not to be born.`

The final decision made by the French supreme-court on 28th has generated the new ethical debate.

France`s highest court admitted a claim of Down`s syndrome boy Lionel (alias) for compensation for being born rather than being aborted. The court ordered the medical team who had been in charge of his delivery to compensate.

Mother of Lionel had raised a lawsuit to demand compensation for damages that Lionel received by his physical handicap since his birth. She argued that she would have terminated the pregnancy if she had known the physical disabilities of the baby through ultrasonic inspection during the period of pregnancy. The abortion is legally admissible in France.

Lionel`s mother already received the first compensation, but the supreme court ordered to increase the amount of compensation, admitting Lionel`s right not to be born.

With regard to this decision, the organizations for physically-challenged persons reacted repulsively, maintaining that "the court made a decision that to be aborted before the birth is better than to live as a physically-challenged person." The medical circles also exploded the complains, questioning whether they should recommend the abortion in order to evade the post lawsuit when they came to have doubts about the baby`s health.

This decision reconfirmed `the Nicolas Perruche case` which stirred a big commotion in November last year. Then, the court admitted the right to claim to compensation for being born rather than aborted on 17-year-old youth Nicolas who was born with a brain damage since a doctor and a medical laboratory failed to properly diagnose a case of rubella (German measles), that was likely to cause disabilities to her unborn child.

The organizations for physically-challenged persons has also filed an appeal on `the Nicolas Perruche case`.

Jei-Gyoon Park phark@donga.com