Should it be illegal for pregnant women to smoke and drink while pregnant?

[ShyGuyInChicago]

What do you think? Would such a law violate her rights?

[Amnesiac]

Yes, it should be illegal. Such activities can harm the development and well-being of the baby. Nobody has the right to injure a child they're planning to bring into the world, that's just cruel.

[The Batman]

I say let them do it, but if there are any complications because of it after birth, the father has a right to sue if he tried to get her to stop.

[Amnesiac]

I say let them do it, but if there are any complications because of it after birth, the father has a right to sue if he tried to get her to stop.

Wouldn't you rather make the life of the baby better by preventing those complications in the first place?

[Kaius]

I don't think it should go as far as being made illegal. Back in the old times being pregnant wasn't as fussed over, women smoked and drank like it was going out of fashion, and from what I can see it didn't cause all that much more bad health than kids nowadays are subjected to anyway. Sure smoking and drinking can lead to health problems in children but think of all those women that go through pregnancies not even knowing they're carrying a child. They carry on smoking and drinking yet the baby is born perfectly healthy. I'm not condoning smoking or consuming alcohol just my opinion.

[ShyGuyInChicago]

Some people would say that the fetus is part of a woman's body and therefore it has no rights.

[Amnesiac]

Some people would say that the fetus is part of a woman's body and therefore it has no rights.

Some pro-choice people go as far as saying that. However, I don't believe a fetus has no rights. If someone's planning to go through with the pregnancy, it should be protected from harm.

[Sage]

This law would be too difficult to enforce and so I'm against it. Yes, I agree women who are pregnant should not do such things, but you cannot legislate responsibility.

[Jess]

they shouldn't do it, but they have the right to do it (even though it's bad for their health)

[Harley Quinn]

well it does say on such products not to smoke, drink ect while pregnant. Whether or not there will be a law on it, i don't think there will be because it's just too hard to inforce something when it's common sense.

[applenerd15]

yes it should be illegal, however when the child is born they show stop smoking, second hand smoke kills too.

[BOBBY HILL]

Would be too difficult to control and moderate. Look at weed for an example.

[dead]

Would be too difficult to control and moderate. Look at weed for an example.

Weed is a bad example.

[Lights]

Like others have said, it would be far too difficult to control and I would vote no anyway. Sure it's completely ethically wrong to smoke and drink at the expense of the child, but it's the mother's decision. You could make her seriously ill if she has an addiction to smoking and is suddenly deprived of it for 9 months.
They only have themselves to blame if their child is born with a deficiency of some kind though.

[huginnmuninn]

if this was made a law would it also be illegal for women who breast feed to smoke and drink because whatever the women put into their body comes out in the breast milk

[INFERNO]

It shouldn't be made illegal for a few reasons. First, suppose that it is a crime. With all crimes, there must be a punishment so what punishment would the pregnant woman receive? If she's very far into the pregnancy, putting her into jail may be problematic when she gives birth and any additional medical care that's required. For it to be illegal, there must be a fitting punishment, otherwise it's not a crime, it's just something that society frowns upon but still allows to continue.

Second, if illegal, it has to be enforcable in some way. This law would be incredibly difficult to enforce, especially if women drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or whatever in their house. These are all legal substances so there's no dealer involved, it's simply going to the store and buying the stuff.

Third, making it illegal because it's harmful to the fetus, baby and mother means that all sources of unhealthyness should be illegal: fast foods to name a major one. But another one can simply be the area where the pregnant mother lives. If she lives in a poor area with little health care and is very poor, that will affect the fetus' and baby's development but it's ridiculous to charge her for that. One can even go so far as to saying if she beats her abdomen area with a cane as hard as possible, that's still legal because the fetus is a living organism attached to her and is of her body. Of course, there's one last problem in that if the woman is pregnant very recently but does not know of it yet, then should she be charged for smoking and drinking if she later on quits in acknowledgment of her up-coming baby?

I think the woman should be advised not to drink, smoke, beat herself with a cane senselessly, etc... but it should not be illegal. The father should try to help his pregnant wife/girlfriend/whomever as should the pregnant woman but these are ethics, morals and societal norms, not laws.

[Sith Lord 13]

This law would be too difficult to enforce and so I'm against it. Yes, I agree women who are pregnant should not do such things, but you cannot legislate responsibility.

well it does say on such products not to smoke, drink ect while pregnant. Whether or not there will be a law on it, i don't think there will be because it's just too hard to inforce something when it's common sense.

Second, if illegal, it has to be enforcable in some way. This law would be incredibly difficult to enforce, especially if women drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes or whatever in their house. These are all legal substances so there's no dealer involved, it's simply going to the store and buying the stuff.

How about prosecuting mothers who have children born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) or when it's reported, and prohibiting pregnant women from drinking in bars? Not perfect, no, but better than nothing in my opinion.

It shouldn't be made illegal for a few reasons. First, suppose that it is a crime. With all crimes, there must be a punishment so what punishment would the pregnant woman receive? If she's very far into the pregnancy, putting her into jail may be problematic when she gives birth and any additional medical care that's required. For it to be illegal, there must be a fitting punishment, otherwise it's not a crime, it's just something that society frowns upon but still allows to continue.

Third, making it illegal because it's harmful to the fetus, baby and mother means that all sources of unhealthyness should be illegal: fast foods to name a major one. But another one can simply be the area where the pregnant mother lives. If she lives in a poor area with little health care and is very poor, that will affect the fetus' and baby's development but it's ridiculous to charge her for that. One can even go so far as to saying if she beats her abdomen area with a cane as hard as possible, that's still legal because the fetus is a living organism attached to her and is of her body. Of course, there's one last problem in that if the woman is pregnant very recently but does not know of it yet, then should she be charged for smoking and drinking if she later on quits in acknowledgment of her up-coming baby?

I think the woman should be advised not to drink, smoke, beat herself with a cane senselessly, etc... but it should not be illegal. The father should try to help his pregnant wife/girlfriend/whomever as should the pregnant woman but these are ethics, morals and societal norms, not laws.

For your first point, I think that raises an interesting question, and the one I'm having the hardest time answering. My best thought would be jailing the mother, and having her released to an actual hospital once labor begins. Or perhaps it should only be a fine. A fine works, both as a punitive function as well as a logistical one (discretionary spending is limited due to paying the fine) Or community service. I believe it could be made to work, with the actual penalty being decided at some later point.

As per your 3rd point, it's a matter of severity and choice.

[Jenna.]

No, I don't think it should be illegal. It should be strongly discouraged, but not illegal. Why? It's violating their rights and it would be very difficult to control because if they really wanted to, women would find a way to do it anyway.

[ashleigh7]

Absolutely not!

[abcdeqwe]

Personally, I don’t see the point in doing that. There are too many variables at play that determine how healthy a baby is at birth. There are mothers that supposedly do everything right but their babies aren’t healthy when they’re born and likewise, there are mothers that have a glass of wine or something every now and the baby ends out perfectly fine. Now, with that said, a mother that smokes everyday and drinks hard liquor is probably not gonna have custody over her for very long but their isn’t much anyone can do while the baby is in the womb anyway.