Cite as 275 Ark. 239 (1982)
Cal. Rptr. 652 (1976); Betancourt v. Gaylor, 136 N. J. Super., 344 A. 2d 336 (1975); Ziemba v. Sternberg, 45 App. Div. 2d 230, 357 N.Y.S. 2d 265 (1974); Hackworth v. Hart, 474 S.W. 2d 377 (Ky. 1971); Troppi v. Scarf, 31 Mich. App. 240, 187 N.W. 2d 511 (1971); Custodio v. Bauer, 251 Cal. App. 2d 303, 59 Cal. Rptr. 463 (1967). Several courts have recognized that the expenses for raising a child who is either unplanned or unwanted are foreseeable damages directly resulting from the negligence of the doctor; a negligent act was committed and there must be compensation for that negligent act. Sherlock v. Stillwater Clinic, supra; Bowman v. Davis, supra; Troppi v. Scarf, supra; Custodio v. Bauer, supra; Ziemba v. Sternberg, supra.
The courts that have allowed such recovery have done so for logical reasons, treating the question as one of ordinary damages. Should parents in this sophisticated day and time not have a right to plan their family and avoid the economic hardship of raising a child they chose not to have? Should a doctor not pay for all the damages occasioned by his negligent act? Custodio v. Bauer, supra.
Other courts have denied recovery for the expenses of raising a child, on the basis that it is against "public policy." Wilczynski v. Goodman, supra; Rieck v. Medical Protective Co., 64 Wis. 2d 514, 219 N.W. 2d 243 (1974); Hays v. Hall, 477 S.W. 2d 402 (Tex. Civ. App. 1972), rev'd on other grounds, 488 S.W. 2d 412 (Tex. 1973); Stewart v. Long Island College Hospital, 35 A.D. 2d 531, 313 N.Y.S. 2d 502 (1970); aff'd. 30 N.Y.S. 2d 695, 332 N.Y.S. 2d 640 (1972); Shaheen v. Knight, 11 Pa. D. & C. 2d 41 (1957); Christensen v. Thornby, 192 Minn. 123, 255 N.W. 620 (1934) (Holding the question of damages to be a matter for the legislature).
The questions that have been raised by the judges and courts who have examined this problem demonstrate that the answer is not easy, nor can any disposition be completely satisfactory. The courts that have denied recovery because of public policy articulate that policy in different ways. For example, the Texas Court of Civil Appeals decided that the joy and pride in raising a healthy child far outweighs any economic loss suffered by the parents; the birth of a child is a benefit on which an economic price tag cannot be placed.
