Marchant comments on 'wrongful birth' lawsuits bill

ASU Regents’ Professor Gary Marchant, faculty director of the College of Law’s Center for Law, Science & Innovation, recently spoke to AP reporter Michelle L. Price, and the article appeared in Arizona Capitol Times, The Republic and the Arizona Daily Sun, and on KTAR and Fox 10 News, among others.

The Feb. 8 article reported on a bill that would prevent “wrongful birth” lawsuits, which can arise if physicians don't inform pregnant women of prenatal problems that could have led them to decide to have abortions.

Marchant said nine states bar both "wrongful life'' and "wrongful birth'' lawsuits. There have been about 100 such lawsuits nationwide, including a few in Arizona, said Marchant, who recently did a study on the subject.

“Many cases involve a doctor failing to share or properly communicate the results of prenatal screenings or risk factors to parents,” Marchant said. “Those screenings can test for conditions such as cystic fibrosis or Down syndrome.”

Marchant, an ASU Lincoln Professor of merging Technologies, Law and Ethics, frequently lectures about the intersection of law and science at national and international conferences. He has authored more than 60 articles and book chapters on various issues relating to emerging technologies. Among other activities, he has served on two National Research Council committees, has been the principal investigator on several major grants, and has organized numerous academic conferences on law and science issues.