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Australia's First 'Wrongful Life' Case Wins Amy's Attention

Bond University student Amy Rowland’s essay about a blind and deaf Australian woman suing her mother’s doctor because she "never should have been born" has taken out one of Queensland’s most prestigious competitions for tertiary law students.

The Queensland Law Society (QLS) recently announced Ms Rowland as this year’s winner of their Short Essay competition, for her submission "A Duty to Not Let Live".

The nineteen-year-old student said she initially prepared the essay as part of an assignment for one of her law subjects.

"My essay was about a wrongful life case in which a disabled woman was attempting to sue her mother’s doctor because she says she should never have been born.

"Her case stated the doctor was negligent by misdiagnosing rubella in the first trimester of her mother’s pregnancy and failing to advise her to have an abortion."

Ms Rowland said she was "very excited" to receive the award.

"I was definitely pleasantly surprised to receive the award from such a prestigious professional body.

"This award has given me greater confidence that I'm sure will hold me in good stead as I enter my future career," she said.

QLS Professional Development Manager Sharon Burke was full of praise for the young law student’s logical expression of the complicated case.

"Amy’s essay was not only well researched and clearly written, but it was also interesting and appealing to the target audience," she said.

"There were five judges on the panel and each on of them ranked Amy’s essay as number one."

"Receiving an award of this calibre from Queensland Law’s peak professional body shows an outstanding level of knowledge and insight. It’s a fantastic résumé builder," Ms Burke said.

As winner of the competition, Ms Rowland received $500 in prize money and will have her complete work published in the QLS magazine Verdict, to be read by thousands of her budding lawyer peers around the state.
 

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