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 Massachusetts, the concepts of 'wrongful life' and 'wrongful birth' are not recognized as valid legal claims. Massachusetts courts have generally followed the majority rule that does not allow for wrongful life claims, which would involve a disabled child suing for being born with disabilities due to a healthcare provider's negligence. Similarly, wrongful birth claims, where parents sue for the birth of a disabled child alleging that they were not properly informed of the risks of genetic or congenital abnormalities, are also not recognized in Massachusetts. This means that neither the child nor the parents can typically recover damages for the types of claims that would be categorized as wrongful life or wrongful birth in this state. Parents may still have other avenues for legal recourse if they believe there has been medical malpractice, but these would not fall under the categories of wrongful life or wrongful birth.