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 Rhode Island, the concepts of 'wrongful life' and 'wrongful birth' are not explicitly recognized as causes of action. Unlike the few states that do recognize wrongful life claims, such as California, Maine, New Jersey, and Washington, Rhode Island has not established a legal precedent that allows a child, through a legal guardian, to sue for wrongful life. Similarly, wrongful birth claims, which are recognized in about half of the states as a form of medical malpractice, are not a distinct legal cause of action in Rhode Island. In states where wrongful birth is recognized, parents can sue medical professionals for failing to inform them of potential genetic or congenital abnormalities that would have led them to decide against conception or to terminate a pregnancy. In Rhode Island, parents may still pursue traditional medical malpractice claims if they believe there was negligence in prenatal care or genetic testing, but these claims would not be classified under the specific categories of wrongful life or wrongful birth.