醫師對準父母未充分解釋胎兒可能罹患障礙的責任【寰宇醫事裁判】 試閱
Medical Liability for Insufficient Disclosure to Expectant Parents about the Potential Disability of the Unborn Child
本案涉及醫師並未全面性解釋胎兒發生嚴重身障的可能性。原告曾表示,若是先知悉胎兒可能罹患重症,便會終止妊娠。其於懷孕期間接受多次檢查,發現胎兒有腦部異常,但醫師並未清楚地告知其可能會導致其嚴重身障;胎兒出生後經確診罹患Aicardi-Goutieres症候群,導致終身的嚴重身障。原告就此向診所與所聘僱之醫師請求損害賠償,主張醫師未履行諮詢義務,未能使其在充分知情的情況下終止妊娠。法院認定醫師並未履行義務,未提供完整且正確的資訊,診所身為受雇人因此對原告負有損害賠償責任。本案亦涉及德國刑法對於合法終止妊娠的要件:儘管胎兒已具有生存能力,若其造成孕婦嚴重不堪負荷之負擔,致其無法實現生活時,對胎兒生命權之保障或許應退讓於孕婦生命權與人格權之保障。
In this case, it is about a physician’s failure to fully explain the possibility of the fetus developing a severe disability. The plaintiff had stated that she would have terminated the pregnancy if she had known beforehand that the fetus might suffer from a serious condition. During her pregnancy, several examinations revealed brain abnormalities in the fetus, but the physician didn´t inform her that these could lead to severe disability. After birth, the child was diagnosed with Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome, resulting in a lifelong severe disability. The plaintiff sought compensation for the damages from the clinic and the physician employed by the clinic, claiming that the latter had failed in his duty of consultation and had prevented her from making an informed decision to terminate the pregnancy. The court found that the physician failed to provide complete and accurate information, and the clinic as the employer was responsible for the plaintiff’s damages. The case also touches on the elements for a lawful termination of pregnancy according to German Criminal Law. Even if the fetus could live by itself, if it places an unbearable burden on the mother to the extent that she cannot lead a normal life, the protection of the fetus’s right to life may have to yield to the protection of the mother’s right to life and personality.
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