Distributing the burden of a blessing

Evaluates the courts' application of distributive justice principles in cases of wrongful pregnancy, including the extent to which their use is justified as a means of restricting tortious liability. Examines the connection between distributive and corrective justice, the concepts underpinning distributive justice and its practical application in cases such as McFarlane v Tayside Health Board and the Court of Appeal and House of Lords' decisions in Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust, on whether a disabled mother could claim damages for the extra costs of rearing a healthy child born after a failed sterilisation. Comments on key aspects of the minority and majority judgments in Rees, the difficulties of applying distributive justice principles to cases of wrongful pregnancy and the implications of the Rees judgment for future wrongful birth cases. © 2011 Sweet & Maxwel