The French government is seeking to overturn a court ruling making doctors liable for allowing the births of disabled children, a government parliamentary chief said today.
According to a court ruling made last year and confirmed by France's highest court, doctors can be sued for denying a woman her right to end a pregnancy if they fail to detect possible deformities during an ultrasound scan.
Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Socialist-led government plans to add an amendment to a private member's bill in parliament that seeks to end the legal precedent.
The government's involvement is expected to increase the measure's chances of getting through parliament.
The government will itself put forward an amendment because it is a difficult subject that should not be addressed without preparation, said Mr Jean-Marc Ayrault, president of Mr Jospin's Socialist Party group in the National Assembly, or lower house.
In France, all pregnant women have ultrasound scans and are informed of the results. If there is the slightest suspicion the unborn child may have abnormalities, the mother-to-be has the right to request further tests.
Disabilities groups and the National Ethics Committee criticised the court ruling, which was said to establish a child's right not to be born.
Doctors said it would make them too concerned about their own interests rather than those of their patients and that ultrasound scanning for disability is nowhere near 100 per cent reliable. Some refused to perform ultrasound scans.