Michigan woman Lori Cichewicz is suing her doctor for “wrongful conception,” claiming compensation for the stress caused by an unplanned pregnancy.
Cichewicz expected to undergo a procedure to permanently shut off her ability to get pregnant in 2008 after her doctor told her that if she ever were to get pregnant, she would have a child with Down syndrome.
However, her doctor also told her that her tubes were blocked, so she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant anyway. He then neglected to perform the sterilization procedure and also told her that birth control wasn’t necessary. So the now 50-year-old went on with her life thinking that she wasn’t able to bear children.
In 2011, however, Cichewicz did indeed give birth to a baby girl with Down syndrome, despite the doctor’s assurance that pregnancy was impossible. She will be suing for wrongful conception, which is essentially a medical malpractice suit for not performing the sterilization procedure up to standard (or at all in this case).
Although Cichewicz says she loves her daughter immensely, she is incredibly stressed about being older and raising a child with special needs:
“I’m older, I don’t know, will I see her graduate college? Will I see her go to college? Will I see her get married? Will I see her graduate high school? All this is going through my mind.”
Legal analyst Charlie Langton has said he thinks Cichewicz has a case, as bizarre as it may seem to an outsider:
“The stress associated with thinking about…having to be pregnant or being pregnant when she didn’t want to be pregnant are the only damages. [She’s not] going to get money for having to raise a Down syndrome child, the court already said no.”
Cichewicz, however, expresses unrelenting devotion to her daughter, “She’s full of life, loving, kind, sweet, everything you could ever imagine.”
The case is expected to go to court later in the year. However, it may be settled out of court if the doctor decides to strike a settlement with Cichewicz before then.
Sources:
Fox News
KDVR