Mollie Hemingway, Ed.: Parenting Malpractice

"God sends us children to teach us what he's given up trying to teach in every other way." says Rabbi Lawrence Kushner. But apparently that wasn't enough for this Chinese couple, awarded $7 million in a medical malpractice settlement this week involving the birth of a child with a rare genetic defect.

The mother was upset that four medical professionals at a Worcester, Massachusetts, hospital failed to give tests that could have enabled her "to have an abortion rather than carry her now-disabled child to term."

Their daughter has Cri-du-Chat, a rare genetic disorder that has a variety of potential symptoms. Raising a disabled child is an unbelievable challenge. I hope that this family sees the blessings they've been given, too. A lawsuit based on the idea that the child should have been killed isn't promising, of course.

The $7 million payout was a settlement agreement. And we wonder why medical professionals are groaning about their rising malpractice insurance costs.