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 Virginia, the concepts of 'wrongful life' and 'wrongful birth' are not recognized as valid legal claims. Virginia courts have not established a cause of action for wrongful life, which would involve a disabled child suing a medical provider for not informing their parents of a disability or genetic condition that could have led to a decision to terminate the pregnancy or avoid conception. Similarly, wrongful birth claims, where parents sue for the birth of a disabled child due to a lack of information that would have influenced their reproductive choices, are also not recognized in Virginia. This means that neither the child nor the parents can typically sue medical professionals for these reasons in Virginia. The state adheres to the more traditional medical malpractice framework, which requires the demonstration of a provider's failure to meet the standard of care, resulting in injury or harm, but does not extend to the concept of being born with a disability as a compensable harm.