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Disabled Shocked at Court Ruling
Wednesday, January 9, 2002
The Associated Press

For parents like Martha Lebihan, however, the court's decision reflects widespread ignorance in France about the handicapped.

France’s highest court has ruled in a landmark case that effectively said a disabled child should never have been born.

It agreed the child, born severely handicapped because his mother contracted German measles while pregnant, is entitled to damages.

Advocates for the disabled have angrily denounced the decision, saying the case has undermined the dignity of the handicapped.

Now politicians have entered the fray and tomorrow will debate a government proposal aimed at curbing the ruling, which was upheld twice in court.

Teenager Nicolas Perruche is deaf, practically blind and severely retarded. In November 2000, the Court of Cassation said he could sue his doctors because they failed to diagnose his mother's illness while she was pregnant.
(More: SundayTimes.com News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan