Home
Crime
Couple Sues For 'Wrongful Birth' Of Daughter…

Couple Sues For 'Wrongful Birth' Of Daughter Born With Down Syndrome

Fri, March 9, 2012 5:05pm EDT by Hollywood Life Staff 34 Comments

A Portland, Oregon couple is suing a health center for a botched prenatal test because they say they would have aborted the child if they knew she was going to have Down’s. So shocking!

Ariel and Deborah Levy, both 39, are suing a health center for “wrongful birth” after a prenatal test failed to pick up whether their child had Down syndrome or not, according to The Daily Mail. Their daughter Kalanit, who is now four years old, was born with it, and they shockingly say they would have aborted her had they known!

They are suing the health center for $3 million, the amount they say they’ll have to pay over her lifetime to care for her.

The couple say they love their daughter, but admit they were stunned when doctors said she had Down’s.

“We were told we had nothing to worry about,” Ariel told jurors.

The lawsuit claims that in addition to the botched test results, ultrasounds showed traits of the syndrome, but staff failed to recognize the symptoms.

The couple say they’ve received death threats for their shocking statements. What do YOU think, HollyMoms?

More HollyBaby news:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

To comment, please fill in the fields below, enter your comment and select the Comment button.

Enter your comment here...

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Email (required) (Address never made public)

Name (required)

Website

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change )

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change )

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

View Comment

Wow. You people are heartless ! Makes me sick to know someone would abort there child Cuz of downs. That’s your flesh n blood!!

Share this comment at

This makes me sick and everyone who says they would do the same. Children are gifts from god. All of them! I wonder if the people who said they would abort are christian because that is murder!

Share this comment at

The doctors should have told them so they could make an informed decision. I can’t say that I would go through a pregnancy if I found out that my child would have downs or another life sentence. Downs…autism…numerous others means that (unless you give the kid up) you are stuck with them for the rest of their natural lives. I wouldn’t want that. If I had a child with a problem like that (yes I know autism isn’t diagnosed till toddler hood) If they had downs I’d probably abort or immediately set it up for them to be adopted. If my child was autistic I’d probably give them up for adoption. I just know that i couldn’t care for them as their condition requires and it would be better if they were elsewhere. I have a nephew that is autistic and I love him very much and I think his mother is awesome for being able and willing to handle the condition. I’ve known downs people (none related to me) and whereas they are very sweet I know I don’t want a lifetime child. They usually get stuck somewhere in the childhood phases somewhere between small child and teenage phases for life. No thank you. I’d want to be warned ahead of time as well. I do like the fact that they decided to keep and care for her. I don’t blame them at all for suing.

Share this comment at

i agree with them as well… the proof was in the pudding.. i believe they’re sueing know because at 1st they did’t realise hiw much $$ it was going to be..

Share this comment at

These people shouldn’t be allowed to breed. Anything can happen in the process of making a child and if you aren’t prepared to live with ANYTHING being wrong with your child then you can’t unconditionally love your child as far as i’m concerned…

Share this comment at

I agree with them. In no way did they say they don’t love their kid. Of course they love their child unconditionally. They said if they’d known BEFORE they would’ve aborted. If you can keep something like that from happening to a child and keep from having to go through all the hardship you can. I don’t see why you absolutely would have to choose to have a child with such a heavy disability and so many health conditions and risks…

Share this comment at

FOUR YEARS and now they’re suing? Ridiculous.

Share this comment at

I can understand their frustration, but they’re being absolutely ridiculous! It’s not always possible to identify what a child may have. I say the stop focusing on this law suit, and start focusing on their daughter. And if they don’t want to take care of her, put her up for adoption. I know lots of couples looking to adapt who would love any child. And I personally know a couple who adopt children with Downs.

some people are so heartless.

Share this comment at

Well they could have always put the baby up for adoption. Im sure somebody in this world who cant have children would be glad to take their “burden” off their hands.

Share this comment at

you should know it takes years to get a suit filed and into a public court and years to get medical bills to start piling up to rpve damages. Thats why the baby is four and the suit is just being filed. Also, adopted parents get free meidcal for adopted children so the millions in medical over a life time would be paid by the government. If this couple has a avaerage health plan and avaerage jobs they will probably not be able to afford the surgeries, speech pathology, special education, home care, day care, adult daycare as he grows up and will probably be forced to go bankrupt if they are going to keep up with his lifelong and expensive medical care. You can easily test for downs syndrome and the hospital made a huge mistake over and over again with the same family. The hospital should pay for the meidcal care of that child over his lifetine because the parents state honestly they would not have had the baby and are not financially able to keep with insane costs of having a family member with SEVERE DOWN SYNDROME. They are allowed to make a choice and the hospital probably screws up manys things that hurt, injure or kill people if they cannot get a genetic test for downs right. The hospital should be ding’d they have insurance to cover their screw ups and then the financial penalty will make the hospital make better procedures to protect all patients and allow this family who loves their child to provide him with expensive medical treatments for life and not go bankrupt and lose him anyway. Many people with family members with severe health problems end of signing there loved ones over to the state so they can have meidcal coverage- that’s so sad. I have a aquaintance who shipped her mental disabled son to the mid west to a adult care program because she could not afofrd his care and so she signed him over to the state welfare and they placed him out of state. Is that a good mom- who is to decide if cannot pay to keep him safe and alive is it sadder that the care costs too much or that he now has no family. This is a complicated issue and this family is a victim and deserves help. Look at the many issues not just that they would have aborted- that is narrow minded and shows you are not seeing how sad and difficult it is for all sides.

Share this comment at

My sister has down syndrome. I could never imagine her not being here. She’s the best sister in the world. They don’t deserve to have any children if they are going to feel that way about one child with special needs.

Share this comment at

Great post on Super Green Tea Diet Health Benefit! I really enjoyed reading it, and my own site is about Green Tea Fat Burner so I’m not just saying so lightly. Keep up the good work!

Share this comment at

They’re shameful human beings and don’t deserve the gift of being parents. They were blessed with there little girl for a reason and should love her regardless of anything because if they think they’re struggling imagine how the little girl feels. She needs all the love she can get.

Share this comment at

This story just breaks my heart. First off I’ll say that I’m pro life all day any day. To me people make the decision to have intercourse and when they get pregnant they need to take responsibility. I do realize that unfortunately there are rape victims and that can be very difficult. My heart pours out to those women, noone deserves to be violated like that- ever! However if you get pregnant, even in a rape situation, that’s not the babies fault. I personally was a virgin until my wedding night and now I have a 14 month old son and I’m full term waiting for my daughter. My husband and I chose not to get the testing done on either of our children because we knew that these babies represent our love for God and each other and no matter who they came out to be that we would love them unconditionally, as God intends parents to love their children. Thy did see on the ultrasound that my son has a brain tumor- this scared me because my husband had a brain tumor years ago with less than a 10% chance to live. When I heard that my heart stopped. Not once was my reaction “oh no this kid might have a damaged brain, I might cause issues, it could be work- maybe we should terminate the pregnancy”. It was “oh no my poor baby! I love him so much, what can I do!” my heart didn’t beat right for two weeks until we had an ultrasound by a specialist. I was just praying for my babies safety. Thank God its irrelivent and he’s fine, but not having him wasn’t an option for me, nor should it be for any parent. There are so many wonderful people, families who have been told they can’t have kids- why not bless one of them with a child if you feel its too much for you to handle? A babies heart starts beating 21 days after conception. Most people don’t even know they’re pregnant by then. What makes anyone think they have the right to stop a beating heart?

Share this comment at

I believe that it is up to the parents to decide whether or not they want to have their infant. I agree that these parents should take full responsibility since they went through with the pregnancy but in regards to abortion it is put to the parents. They should have a choice because they will be held accountable for their infant’s life.

Share this comment at

Abortion is not illegal, and until it is, you will never convince me it’s immoral. I have a 5 year old son, and while I love him to pieces, he’s difficult enough to manage as a “normal” child, I can only imagine how much harder it would be if he had Down’s. Not everyone holds the same values, heck, some of us don’t even believe in “God”, but since you seem to know so much, tell me this; Would you want to wake up everyday wondering where your child is, how they are, if they’re even alive? That’s what adoption is for the birth parents in most cases. I have never had an abortion myself, but I will say that if I was told that a child I was carrying would have a problem like this, I would probably choose to abort as well. I am not capable of dealing with a child like that, so why would I do that to myself and my kids? But on the other hand, I’m not strong enough to wonder every time I see a kid around that age if it’s mine, or how s/he is… Doesn’t make me less of a person, or a bad or undeserving parent, it makes me a realist who knows her own limitations and doesn’t want to destroy multiple people’s EXISTING lives, just to bring yet ANOTHER child into the world.

Share this comment at

You are getting way too defensive and offensive about someone else’s opinion, Mercedes. I don’t recall Misty implying that she “knows so much.” Calm down. Everyone is entitled to her own opinion. However, I just have to ask. Legality determines morality for you? I personally don’t allow government created laws to set my values. Believe it or not, it’s not only those who believe in God that may agree with Misty. I’ve known a few people that have opted for adoption, and not one of them wakes up in fear, wondering where her child is, etc. Do you notice the difference between your post and Misty’s? Misty didn’t go on the attack.

Share this comment at

They may not really feel that way…just stating that to get the $$.

Share this comment at

This disgusted me! Some people do not deserve to be parents. If they “loved” their child like they say, then does it really matter if she has downs?

Share this comment at

They will never be out of debt and will always be stressed with caring for their daughter. It is not a financial “blessing” to have a child with a serious medical condition.

I’m a medical professional and realize how difficult it is- financially, emotionally, etc. to raise a child with Down’s. They will never be independent and can be extremely, extremely difficult to handle when older.

There’s a reason doctors were able to invent a test for this.

Share this comment at

As a medical professional, you should also know that there is a reason doctors don’t ever say anything with certainty. There is no guarantee with tests.

Share this comment at

I dont feel it’s my place or anyone else’s for that matter to judge this couple. Not everyone is emotionally, physically, financially etc… prepared to handle & care for a child with downs syndrome. Theres a reason those tests are done…so the parents can evaluate their options & make the decision thats appropriate for THEM! Abortion is one of those options & its a choice every individual has to make based on their own situation if faced with this situation. Dont say what you would or wouldnt do until you’ve been there…& for the ones who have, you had the freedom to make the choice that was right for you…give others the same respect!

Share this comment at

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, with the right to express it, though.

Share this comment at

this is gross… we were told with our 3rd that she may have downs (she had a marker on her ultrasound) we were also told she had 3rd degree heart block and would need a pacemaker IF we made it far enough to have her.. the thought of aborting her never occured to us. and good thing.. she doesnt have downs and the 3rd degree heart block went away during pregnant.. the only issue with her is she was born with a heart murmur and ASD (holes in the heart) which now at 7 months is just about completely healed.
if someone would have told us ahead of time our 8 year old was doing to have sensory processing disorder it wouldnt have change anything either.

Share this comment at

I had prenatal ultrasound testing along with bloodwork testing for Down Syndrome. It was 100% accurate even with measurement of something in their neck, blood work and the amount of Folic Acid I took for months prior to getting pregnant and during my pregnancies. Honestly I’m not sure what we would have done if the odds were against us but once the results come back. Luckily we didn’t have to make that decision.

If they feel that upset over having a beautiful 4 year old daughter with challenges then they need to find her a loving home instead of saying they should have aborted her or trying to make money off her condition.

There is a “special place” for parents like this and it’s not up above.

Share this comment at

Sorry I meant to say PRENATAL TESTING FOR DOWN SYNDROME IS NOT 100% ACCURATE.

Share this comment at

Anybody who would abort/does abort a child simply because they aren’t “normal” shouldn’t even be a parent. Just because your kid isn’t “perfect” doesn’t mean they won’t love you unconditionally or that you should give up on them.

Share this comment at

One thing I want to say is my 3 year old daughter is developmental delayed, meaning we are in the process of testing her for Autism.

Do I consider this a fault of anyone who treated me during my pregnancy? HECK NO.

Would I have aborted her if I knew the challenges that we would have to face each day? HELL NO!

I believe that parents are given the children they are meant to have. I had very little patience and no respect for people who were disabled prior to having my daughter. It’s hard to admit, but my daughter makes me a much better person and for that I love her unconditionally and give her the care and love she deserves!

Share this comment at

How disgusting!! That poor child, how wonderful having parents who had they known you would be who are, would have chosen to abort.

Share this comment at

i could care less if my child had a mental disability. as long as he or she came out healthy, i’ll still love that child unconditionally.

Share this comment at

I think everyone who views this negatively should read the book ‘handle with care’.

Share this comment at

love that book was so sad

Share this comment at

I have read that book its hard having a special needs child but god gave them that little girl for a reason i am disgusted that they would have aborted her

Share this comment at