A split Senate panel agreed Wednesday to bar a relatively new kind of malpractice lawsuit in which parents of severely disabled children sue doctors for depriving them of information that would have prompted them to seek abortions. The Senate Health, Human Services & Aging Committee approved 8-2 an amendment that would prohibit lawsuits based on wrongful birth/wrongful life causes of action. "This is good public policy," said Sen. Jim Jordan (R-Urbana), who offered the amendment to a pending House measure that otherwise deals with a licensing exemption for birthing centers in Amish communities. Sen. Jordan said wrongful birth actions are brought by parents of children with birth defects who allege their doctor is liable because the parents would have ended the life of the child had they known about prenatal birth defects. Wrongful life actions are similar lawsuits filed by or on behalf of the child. "The premise of this type of lawsuit is that death is preferable to life with some sort of disability," he said. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that, as a matter of public policy, the state does not recognize wrongful life claims. Justices heard oral arguments in April 2005 on two other lawsuits based on wrongful birth claims. No decision has been issued in either case thus far. Sen. Jordan said Pennsylvania and five other states already prohibit wrongful life/birth causes of action. Approval of the amendment came on a mostly party-line vote. Sen. Charles Wilson of St. Clairsville was the only Democrat to support the measure. The Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers urged rejection of the amendment, contending it was unnecessary. Chairman Kevin Coughlin (R-Cuyahoga Falls) did not share a concern over preemption. "It's rather common for us to codify case law," he said. "And it's common for us to preempt the courts. That's what we do." Sen. Jordan said the amendment would not prevent filing of lawsuits based on alleged medical malpractice. The measure does not preclude an award based on "intentional or willful misrepresentation or omission of information related to medical diagnosis, care, or treatment.