Mum of Down syndrome boy sues hospital, saying she would've aborted him

A mother is suing her national health service for $360,000 after she claims hospital staff failed to check if her unborn baby had Down syndrome, resulting in a “wrongful birth”.

Edyta Mordel, 33, claims she requested the required check-ups during her pregnancy and would have had an abortion if she knew her son had the genetic condition, Metro UK reported.

Ms Mordel, from the English city of Reading, reportedly claims she believed the National Health Service (NHS) provider carried out the appropriate genetic tests and she was given the all-clear.

For this reason she became “upset and angry” when her son Aleksander, now four, was born with Down syndrome.

NHS lawyers claim the woman declined the screening because it comes with a two percent risk of miscarriage, according to the Metro.

A sonographer’s medical notes reportedly indicated: “Down’s screening declined,” London’s High Court heard.

Ms Mordel told the court she would have terminated the pregnancy if she knew about her son’s condition.

“I spoke with the midwife about Down syndrome screening. I knew from the start that I would agree on the Down syndrome screening and I would not make any other decision,” she said.

A NHS hospital trust attorney reportedly said it was “inconceivable” that the sonographer would have made a note of this kind had it not been the case.

The hearing continues.

The British woman is not the first to launch legal action because she unknowingly carried a baby with a genetic condition to term.

Early last month, a Queensland couple sued a Gold Coast ultrasound clinic and doctor, claiming the medical professionals had failed to diagnose their unborn daughter with Down syndrome.

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