Infertility

It is not clear why the birth of a normal, healthy child is "injurious" in the way that other torts are.

(Courts have, by contrast, permitted recovery for intentional misrepresentations about sterility, birth control, or sexual health where the misled party contracts a sexually transmitted disease, or suffers an ectopic pregnancy that requires surgical intervention.

There, the injuries are obvious.) Finally, even if the rights facts were alleged and proven, courts have been unwilling to apply conventional tort principles to this type of case.

A "purely legalistic" approach, in the words of one court, would be inappropriate for a case involving such private conduct and interaction between two adults.

(A California court suggested that the inquiry into the facts by a court would itself violate the parties' constitutional right to privacy and control over reproductive decisionmaking.) Under state child support laws, monetary obligations to children are determined based solely on parental income and children's needs, without regard to any parental misconduct and without consideration of the parents' relative desire to become parents.

Courts have thus refused to apply tort or contract principles in a way that negates or undermines those calculations.

Regardless of the Theory, Public Policy Dictates Against Permitting Lawsuits Based on Unplanned Pregnancies Wheth...

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