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B.C. DOCTOR ORDERED TO PAY $325,000 FOR 'WRONGFUL BIRTH'

Campaign Life Coalition calls decision 'appalling"

VANCOUVER, January 30, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A B.C. Supreme Court judge
has ordered Dr. Ken Kan of Richmond to pay $325,000 to two separated parents because he "failed" to diagnose that the unborn child had Down's Syndrome so that they could abort the baby. It is only the second such ruling in Canada, to date, but others are already before the courts.

Lydia Zhang, the mother, 42, says that the 1997 birth of her daughter, Sherry, "totally disrupted our plans," and that her marriage to Simon Fung collapsed as a result. Mr. Fung, 49, now lives with a "new wife," toddler Sherry and three other daughters in Los Angeles. Had she known in advance, Ms. Zhang says, she would have aborted her daughter.

Justice Michaeal Catliff ruled that Dr. Kan was "negligent in failing to ensure" that Ms. Zhang received an amniocentesis test, which often accurately diagnoses the presence of Down's. He also ruled that the parents were 50% negligent because they failed to find another doctor who would have done the test at a late date. The parents are considering an appeal, blaming the doctor for 100% negligence in failing to aid and abet their abortion of Sherry.

"This judicial decision is appalling," said Karen Murawsky, Director of the Campaign Life Coalition Public Affairs Office. "The fact that someone would rather kill their unborn baby than give birth to a child with Down Syndrome is a judgment on our society and our hardness of heart towards others," she continued.

The Canadian Physicians for Life also commented in a release. Organization president Dr. Will Johnston stated, "Amniocentesis is a relatively dangerous procedure, often performed in situations where it has more chance of causing the death of the baby than of discovering a chromosome defect. A recent British study discovered that a year's worth of amniocentesis in that country had likely caused the deaths of 400 healthy children."

Johnston continued, "It is deplorable that anyone's birth be declared in a Canadian court as a wrong thing warranting legal action.

For newswire coverage see:
http://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?id=11F1D35A-3941-47E1-A668-45DD99EE4534

See the CLC Press release at: http://www.lifesite.net/clc/press/index.html

For previous "wrongful birth" coverage see:
CANADIAN DOCTOR SUED FOR WRONGFUL BIRTH
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1997/dec/97121001.html
WRONGFUL BIRTH SUITS IN CANADA
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1998/dec/98121801.html

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