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 North Carolina, the concepts of 'wrongful life' and 'wrongful birth' are not recognized as valid legal claims. North Carolina courts have generally followed the majority rule that public policy does not support the recognition of wrongful life claims, which would require the court to consider the speculative question of whether it is better never to have been born. Similarly, wrongful birth claims are not recognized in North Carolina. This means that parents in North Carolina cannot sue medical professionals for failing to inform them of potential genetic conditions or birth defects that might have led them to decide against conception or to terminate a pregnancy. As such, any claims made on these grounds would not be supported by the current legal framework in North Carolina.