A woman who had an abortion after she was erroneously told her baby boy had serious chromosomal defects lost her lawsuit against Stamford Hospital and two doctors who she claimed should have warned her the initial genetics test was preliminary. The results of a second test found she was misdiagnosed hours after the abortion.
Anne Meleney-Distassio claimed throughout the five-week trial that ended Nov. 2 that doctors never told her the so-called “FISH” test—which maps genetic material in a person’s cells—was preliminary. Her testimony was disputed by Tracy Shevell, the maternal fetal medicine specialist for the hospital, who maintained she did tell Meleney-Distassio that while the initial test was 99 percent accurate, it was not the final test to be performed by Genzyme Genetics.
