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 Montana, the concepts of 'wrongful life' and 'wrongful birth' are not recognized as valid legal claims. Montana courts have not established a precedent for allowing children to sue for wrongful life, which would involve a claim that they should not have been born due to their disabilities. Similarly, wrongful birth claims, where parents sue medical professionals for not informing them of potential genetic or congenital disabilities that would have led to a decision to avoid or terminate a pregnancy, are not recognized in Montana. This means that neither the child through a legal guardian (in wrongful life cases) nor the parents (in wrongful birth cases) can typically sue for damages based on the argument that they would have made different reproductive choices had they been provided with certain medical information. As such, any claims related to not being informed about a child's disability or genetic disposition during pregnancy would not be considered under these legal theories in Montana.