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Mom to get day in court

Eight years ago she was unable to abort her ill-developed baby due to the malpractice of her hospital, and now she is fighting for redress to her right of choice.

Chu Hsiu-lang (朱秀蘭), a mother of two, has fought against Hsingkuang Hospital (新光醫院) since her son was born in December 1993, suffering from Down's syndrome.

"I had had strange feelings when I carried the child, my second, so I insisted on having an amniocentesis test done during my 16th week of pregnancy," Chu said.

"When I was told the baby was fine, I wasn't relieved, so I asked the hospital for a second opinion. I just didn't feel right as I had had symptoms of miscarriage during that period."

Chu said she then told the doctor it didn't matter whether she had the child or not, but the doctor kept telling her everything was fine and put her on medication to handle the symptoms.

The day after delivery, she was told the baby had Down's syndrome, which includes some degree of mental retardation, or cognitive disability and other developmental problems.

"First I was stunned and said it's impossible because I've had the test. Then, when I realized it, I cried, I screamed and tried to kill myself. I just couldn't accept that what should have been so right turned out to be so wrong," Chu recalled.

It was then that she learned that a sampling of her fetal cells were sent for chromosomal analysis to an intern technician, who was relatively inexperienced when it came to analyzing the results of the amniocentesis.

After a few months, Chu came to terms with reality and started thinking about the future. She tried to negotiate with the hospital over damages resulting from what she charges was medical malpractice, but the hospital denied any wrongdoing and rejected the idea of paying compensation.

She then decided to take legal action against the hospital and claim compensation, which included expenses for medical care and special education, as well as compensation for her resignation from a well-paid job in a life insurance company to take care of the child. Above all, she filed a claim for infringement of her right to an abortion.

"I could have chosen to have an abortion had I been given an accurate report on the condition of the fetus. Neither the doctor nor the intern should take away that right from me. I want them to make up for the injuries they've done to me," Chu said.

If she had been given the choice, Chu said, there is no doubt that she would have aborted the child.

"I already had one child and I was 42 years old at the time, so there was no need to have a baby at that age. I would rather have given up the child than have an abnormal baby," Chu said.

However, since she filed the suit in July 1998, the abortion rights claim has been bluntly rejected by the district and high courts, which held that women do not have the right or freedom to choose an abortion.

In a remarkable turnaround, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court recently refuted the no-choice theory and returned the case back to the Taiwan High Court for a review.

In its opinion, the Supreme Court held that medical institutions should be held accountable for failing to provide pregnant women with information indicating the abnormality of their babies under the Genetic Health Law.

In Taiwan, abortion is legally prohibited except for medical reasons. And the Supreme Court recognized women should be entitled to choose whether to end a pregnancy based on information given by doctors.

The child now goes to an ordinary elementary school but has difficulties keeping up with other students, Chu said. She said she hoped the case, which is scheduled to restart on July 9, will be resolved soon.
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