Recent Canadian Negligence Decisions Relating to Prenatal Care: Implications for Physicians’ Screening Practices

This article summarizes several Canadian court decisions from 2015 onward stemming wrongful birth and life litigation. Plaintiff success often turns on whether causation is established, a balance of probabilities, between physician’s breach standard care the harm to parents and/or child later born. Physicians’ failure offer or order screening diagnostic tests has been source liability, as too can be ensure patient understanding results. Physicians should that they recommend testing when presented with concerning clinical indications in accordance professional practice guidance. Given non-invasive prenatal screening’s (NIPS) advantages threat liability for discuss this procedure, it likely propelled into an ever more prominent position first-choice offering aneuploidy screening. Appropriately cautious physician behaviour involves discussing NIPS, also ensuring results are understood. reduce improve reproductive autonomy, sometimes benefit health by preventing lessening trauma informed women may opt mitigate granted opportunity.