LAS ACCIONES DE WRONGFUL BIRTH Y WRONGFUL LIFE EN EL ORDENAMIENTO JURÍDICO ESPAÑOL (ESPECIAL REFERENCIA A LA RESPONSABILIDAD CIVIL MÉDICA).

Abstract

One of the topics that forms a link between family law in the strict sense and civil liability is the topic of actions of wrongful birth and wrongful life, which is, in the case of wrongful birth action, civil action taken by the parents of a child with birth defects against the doctor who failed, at the appropriate time, to inform the parents properly that the foetus had such deficiencies, wrongful life action is similar, but it is the child born with serious defects who files the court action, although the action can be lodged by the parents in the child's name. The topic, with its attached issues, has not been sufficiently studied in our country, perhaps because Spanish jurisprudence has always been very cautious about such action, very timid to establish damages, due to the difficulties entailed in the assessment of these complex cases and the interests at stake, such as the dignity of the child thus born and the assessment of «life» as one's property.