A mum who said she would have aborted her son had she known before birth he had Down’s syndrome has been awarded a £200,000 payout by the NHS.
Edyta Mordel, 33, sued over the “wrongful birth” of her son after a sonographer failed to obtain informed consent to forego a screening for the syndrome.
All mums-to-be are offered a test for Down’s syndrome between 10 and 14 weeks of pregnancy - and Ms Mordel said she was under the impression her foetus had been screened, the Mirror reports.
When told by Royal Berkshire Hospital of the diagnosis, she was said to be “very upset and angry” because she thought she had received an all-clear.
Campaigners say people with Down’s syndrome can achieve normal life goals.
It causes some learning disability that can vary, and people may be more likely to have heart, digestive system, hearing and sight problems.
Ms Mordel, of Reading, Berks, said in the witness box: “I knew someone from work with Down’s syndrome. I saw how difficult his life is and I would not have continued my pregnancy.
What is Down's syndrome?
“I would not have wanted a disabled child and I would not have wanted my child to suffer the way disabled people suffer. I wouldn’t want to have brought my child into the world like that.”
The court heard her 2014 pregnancy with Aleksander, now aged 4, was unplanned.
Although she had been booked in to have the test, medics claimed she had declined the screening.
Mr Justice Jay said the sonographer had failed to obtain informed consent to go ahead without the screening.
Her initial question to Ms Mordel had been “abrupt” and her follow-up did not go far enough, he said.
“She knew, or ought to have known, Ms Mordel had indicated provisionally she wanted Down’s screening,” he said, adding Ms Mordel failed to process the question and her reflex response was to say, “No”.
The judge added: “Nothing I have said should be interpreted as suggesting that the birth of a child with Down’s syndrome must be seen as unwelcome.”
