Kids! Sue your parents for defective genes!

This story is a bit old, and a bit odd. A 13-year-old girl born with Fragile X syndrome is suing a sperm bank after genetic tests showed the genetic condition was carried on the father's X chromosome. (Weirdness about a girl inheriting an X-linked condition from her father, and a Fragile X male as a sperm donor explained here. The short version is that it's a spectrum, repeat-expansion disease whose severity varies from generation to generation so a mildly affected father could have a more severely affected daughter, though it's rare)

The legal premise is based on product liability law that is usually applied to manufacturer defects such as faulty car brakes

Donovan does not have to show that Idant was negligent, only that the sperm it provided was unsafe and caused injury. "It doesn't matter how much care was taken," says Daniel Thistle, the lawyer representing Donovan, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Genetic tests have revealed that she inherited the disorder from her biological father.

The idea of sperm as a commodity subject to product liability laws raises some interesting questions. In this age of personal genomes and genetic testing, how much responsibility does a sperm bank have to screen for genetic disorders with every available test? If a child inherits Fragile X the old-fashioned way, could they sue their parents?

Should genetic disease even be considered 'injury' for the purposes of legal liability? This is quite different from suing a car manufacturer after suffering an injury caused by defective brakes. No defective brakes and you make it to your destination without a crash and a broken leg. No 'defective' sperm and you don't exist at all.

Either way, as more and more genetic tests come into existence and screening becomes more available there will be interesting legal issues to navigate. I should have gone to law school!