Drinking during pregnancy is one of those minefield topics that never fails to get parents fired up. How much alcohol (if any) should a mom-to-be drink while pregnant? In an extreme case in England, a mom who drank excessively during her pregnancy has been charged retrospectively for committing a “crime of violence.”
"Excessive" is of course open to interpretation and debate. In this case, the woman downed half a bottle of vodka and eight—eight!—cans of beer a day. That's equivalent to between 40-57 units. So I think it's safe to say "excessive" is justified in this case. But this woman isn't some wildcard. A shocking number of moms-to-be do drink too much.
Not surprisingly the baby, now seven, was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) as a direct result of her mother's actions. And in case you didn't know, FAS can cause a multitude of abnormalities, from restricted growth, facial deformities, to learning and behavioural disorders.
Under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, council lawyers are suing the woman for consciously endangering her baby. If the mom is convicted, the case could set a precedent for effectively criminalizing pregnant women who drink to excess.
Of course, the devil always has an advocate. In court, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) spokesperson compared excessive drinking to the pregnant woman who eats "unpasteurized cheese or a soft boiled egg," which is just about the silliest counterargument I've ever heard.
The difficulty with any kind of grey area legislation is where to draw the line. And the jury's still out over the hard facts when it comes to how much alcohol is truly safe to drink during pregnancy.
Though this case was clearly over the top, how many units will be considered "excessive"? Will a woman's BMI be taken into account? Is this yet another example of the government trying to exercise control over women's bodies?
You tell me: Should excessive drinking while pregnant be criminalized?
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