Liability has been accepted by several parties sued by a couple who terminated their pregnancy after being wrongly advised of a fatal foetal abnormality. The issue of damages is yet to be decided.
Rebecca Price and Patrick Kiely, from Phibsborough in Dublin, sued the National Maternity Hospital, a lab in Glasgow and five consultants at the Merrion Fetal Health Clinic in Dublin: over what they claimed was inaccurate advice they received in relation to the health of their unborn child, whom they named Christopher Joseph.
They were told he had tested positive for Edwards Syndrome, which causes most babies to die before or shortly after birth.
The couple claimed they followed advice to terminate the pregnancy due to what they believed was a fatal foetal abnormality, only to find out afterwards that he didn’t actually have it.
Rebecca said she went into an intense nervous shock when it dawned on her that she had aborted a healthy baby.
Liability was conceded by the defendants after a day of talks outside court today. The issue of damages will be discussed tomorrow.
