The abiding impression following the completion of this book is that the analysis of the legal approach to the management of the troubled pregnancy discloses a mix of well-established patterns which, nonetheless, include some difficult anomalies.

Patterns and anomalies

In general, the decisions reached by the courts on an international scale have demonstrated a surprising consistency over the years which is only now being challenged. Surprising, first, because the various jurisdictions that we have considered have approached the available actions either de novo or have relied heavily on experience in the United States which, inevitably in view of the large number of separate judiciaries involved and the wide cultural differences imposed by the size of the country, has provided a number of possible solutions to virtually every problem raised. And, second, because many of the landmark decisions made, have turned as much on the judicial interpretation of the moral issues involved as on anything else. A remarkable corollary to this has been the way in which public opinion, in the form of elected parliaments, has responded quickly whenever the courts have stepped out of the established line in the name of legal principle. Thus, we have seen a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the French Parliament to the acceptance by the highest court of a ‘wrongful life’ action on the part of a disabled neonate.