NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Blessed or burdened by childbirth?

By Amanda Spratt
22 Oct, 2005 10:57 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The birth of a child is usually a cause for celebration. Most parents, even those with pre-natal nerves, attest to falling in love with their very own screaming bundle of baby from the first moment they see it.

Not all conceptions are planned or wanted. Some are even planned against.
But now in New Zealand, in a decision conceived in the mind of a district court judge in a case legally referred to as D v ACC and Madhuri Ballal, it appears an unwanted pregnancy can even be a personal injury - and attract compensation.

For some, the idea of pregnancy being akin to a strain, a sprain or a blow to the head will take some getting used to.

"Pregnancy is often extremely awkward or comes at the worst time," said Bernard Moran, spokesman for Voice for Life. "But to say it's a personal injury and something that can be compensated for is not right. I find that a very sad and disturbing decision."

It's a response to be expected from a man involved in such an organisation, but it's not exclusive to anti-abortionists. Inconvenience, many parents say, is not a good enough reason to label their child a mistake, an injury, for the rest of its life.

Take Julia, an Auckland mother of one. She knows what it's like to be caught short by a do-it-yourself pregnancy test.

Julia remembers feeling lost, scared and worried about what her partner Mark, who was away at the time, would say. Just a month earlier, the couple had discussed children and decided they were at least five years off.

"I think we probably wouldn't have had any had nature not intervened," she said. "That was a mutual decision. It was more about wanting to live and to travel and have a good time than a financial or age thing."

They decided to have the child, Sophie, and they love her like any other parents. The idea she might be a personal injury is abhorrent to Julia - but she knows the issue is intensely personal.

"I don't think it's anyone's call to foist a baby on a woman who doesn't want it. It's too huge a responsibility. And if a friend of mine was in that position, I know I would support her whatever decision she made."

In the case of D v ACC and Ballal, the circumstances were different. After deciding four children were enough, for financial and social reasons, D - or Sarah, as we have called her - had her tubes tied. But the procedure failed, for reasons Sarah needs to show amount to medical misadventure, and she became pregnant. Nine months later a baby boy was born, but he wasn't healthy.

Sarah, who was unaware she was pregnant, had not taken all the care a woman in her condition should, and she believes this explains why her fifth child has serious eczema as well as a heart condition.

Judge John Cadenhead's decision has led some to claim the floodgates will now be open to anyone wanting to claim compensation for an unwanted pregnancy.

Not so, said ACC law expert, Victoria University law lecturer John Miller. Deciding pregnancy could be a personal injury was just the first hurdle. To get anything out of ACC coffers, a mother would then have to prove it was an injury the ACC legislation covered.

Simply put, Miller said, the pregnancy would need to be caused either by medical misadventure (now called treatment injury) or an accident. Pregnancy resulting from rape was covered separately.

Miller said if the case was successful, there would be questions over how much someone might win. "I suppose what most people would be thinking about is being stuck with the costs of this kid," he said. "I know I'd be a rich guy if I didn't have four kids. But overseas, countries have stopped short of actually giving compensation for the costs of raising a child."

In Britain, said Miller, costs were capped at 15,000 for the burden of pregnancy and birth.

The argument was that the compensation was for an injury until it went away. In this case, the "injury" was pregnancy, and giving birth made it go away.

The situations where a mother or even the child might be able to claim ongoing compensation or a lump sum - say if the child was born disabled as a result of the medical misadventure - would be limited, said Miller.

Australia is the closest exception. In May 1997 Jordan Melchior was born to parents Craig and Kerry in similar circumstances to the case of Sarah in D v ACC and Ballal. Jordan was the result of a botched tubal ligation and the Melchiors sued for negligence, claiming the cost of his upbringing. In 2003, four out of seven Australian High Court judges agreed and the Melchiors received an award of AU$105,249.

There are, of course, myriad other arguments judges and parents have to address. Which is why, said Miller, New Zealand courts were unlikely to award money for the cost of bringing up a child.

"One would always be marked as the unwanted kid. It's against public policy to fragment families and kids like that."

It would be an oddly constant reminder that Johnny wasn't wanted, said Miller. "It's better for happy families that children are welcomed into the fold."

Former Minister of Women's Affairs and veteran women's advocate Margaret Shields worried that society was becoming too litigious, always looking for someone to blame for accidents. "I can see how some people would be horrified at comparing pregnancy to injury," she said.

"But it's wrong to generalise. I've never felt it was okay to judge on someone else's circumstances if they feel incapable of raising a child."

But she also said such cases did not come up often. And, she added, it was far better that a parent who had an unwanted pregnancy be given the support to care for that baby. When the baby was old enough to understand, the parents would love it like any other, and it would never be made to feel like a strain, sprain or blow to the head.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Wellington

'Not over yet': Chung won't drop out of mayoral race over lewd Tory Whanau email

11 Jul 05:25 AM
Crime

Watch: Video shows chaotic, chilling moments before fatal stabbing

11 Jul 05:00 AM
New Zealand|crime

Mixed verdicts delivered for Tribesmen accused of murdering one of their own

11 Jul 05:00 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

'Serious injuries': Crash closes highway

11 Jul 05:30 AM

Emergency services are responding to a two-vehicle crash which has closed SH29.

'Not over yet': Chung won't drop out of mayoral race over lewd Tory Whanau email

'Not over yet': Chung won't drop out of mayoral race over lewd Tory Whanau email

11 Jul 05:25 AM
Ray Chung talks to Newstalk ZB host Ryan Bridge about email scandal

Ray Chung talks to Newstalk ZB host Ryan Bridge about email scandal

Watch: Video shows chaotic, chilling moments before fatal stabbing

Watch: Video shows chaotic, chilling moments before fatal stabbing

11 Jul 05:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP