The plaintiff gave birth to a daughter with Tay-Sachs disease. Children born with this incurable degenerative nerve disease do not live long. The plaintiffs claimed that the defendant physician was...

The plaintiff gave birth to a daughter with Tay-Sachs disease. Children born with this incurable degenerative nerve disease do not live long. The plaintiffs claimed that the defendant physician was negligent in that he failed to take a proper genealogical history or to properly evaluate their genetic histories. The plaintiffs were Eastern European Jews, a fact that should have put the defendant on notice that there was a high risk the child would suffer from the disease. They also stated that if they had known of the risk involved, they would have taken tests and, if the results were positive, aborted the pregnancy. Both parents claimed that they underwent considerable anguish observing their child suffer prior to her death. Was there a cause of action against the defendant-physician?