The parents in question had an older child who suffered from the rare congenital metabolic Sanfilippo Disorder, or MCS III. About one in every 50,000 children in the Netherlands suffers from the disease, in which the lack of a critical enzyme prevents the breakdown of old cells, leading to the build-up of toxins in the organs of the body.

The family's first child died at the age of 12 and, because it is an inherited condition, the couple chose to be tested when the wife became pregnant again in 1999. The couple were clear that if the test indicated the presence of the disease, the pregnancy would be terminated.

The tests carried out at UZ Brussel, the only Belgian hospital to provide it, came back negative, but when the child was born she was found to have Sanfilippo.

In 2004, the family took legal action, charging that the hospital had been negligent in failing to diagnose the handicap, thereby exposing the child to a life of suffering. The case is almost certainly unique since, as several commentators pointed out, the suit was brought in the child's name, and so effectively had her sue against her own birth.

The size of the damages awarded as well as the ruling itself came as a surprise. Doctors point out that no medical diagnosis is 100% reliable. At the time of the test, only one diagnostic process was available, which on later inspection turned out to be faulty. The hospital itself made no mistakes, the defence maintained, and is likely to appeal to the Cassation Court.

The medical profession will, meanwhile, be weighing up the consequences of the ruling carefully and considering what it might mean in terms of their responsibilities in future.

The child in question died in March this year, at the age of 10.