Wrongful life refers to a claim or cause of action in which a severely disabled child (through the child’s legal guardian) sues the child’s mother’s doctor or hospital for failing to provide the child’s parents with information about the child’s disability during the pregnancy, or about a genetic disposition for the birth defect with which the child was born, causing the child a lifetime of suffering and medical expenses.

In such cases the child argues the parents would have had an abortion or chosen not to get pregnant if they had known of the birth defect or the genetic disposition for it. Most states do not recognize a wrongful life claim, but California, Maine, New Jersey, and Washington do.

Wrongful birth is a similar claim or cause of action that may be brought by the disabled child’s parents in states that recognize such a claim—and about half of the states do. Wrongful birth is a type of medical malpractice claim.

In Florida, the concept of 'wrongful life' is not recognized as a valid cause of action. This means that a child, through a legal guardian, cannot sue a doctor or hospital for failing to inform the parents about a disability or genetic condition during pregnancy that would have led to a decision to terminate the pregnancy or avoid conception. Florida courts have generally found that such claims do not support a cause of action because they require a comparison between existence with disabilities and nonexistence, which is not a comparison the law is equipped to make. On the other hand, 'wrongful birth' claims are recognized in Florida. Wrongful birth is a type of medical malpractice claim where parents of a disabled child sue a medical professional for negligence in failing to inform them of the risk of having a child with a genetic or congenital abnormality. This failure to inform prevents the parents from making an informed decision about whether to conceive a child or carry a pregnancy to term. Florida Statute 766.102 and related case law govern medical malpractice claims, including wrongful birth actions.