From a country where homeschooling is illegal and “offending” parents are jailed (see here, here, here, and here) comes this: A German court decision earlier this month ordered a gynecologist who “botched” a patient’s contraceptive implant to pay €500 [around $650] a month in child support for the next 18 years. (The patient gave birth to a son nearly four years ago.) This Irish Times article notes the reaction of the German newspaper Die Welt, which calls attention to the unspeakable psychological harm this case inflicts upon the boy:
“A child as a case for damages – this perverse idea has now been confirmed by one of Germany’s highest courts.” While it should be welcomed that a doctor can now be held to account in the same way as a shoddy plumber, the newspaper said, how could a child whose parents had sought damages for its birth ever come to terms with the situation? “In addition to the highly private inkling that he was not wanted by his parents, he now has official confirmation that he was born by mistake,” it said.
How long until we see a similar case on this side of the Atlantic? HT: Youth Defence * Note: The title of this post is a quotation from Mark Shea.
