It should be illegal to serve pregnant women alcohol

The other day Kyle and I toured the Highland Brewing Company. We noticed a woman who obviously looked as though she were pregnant. And yes, she was drinking beer…every sample and had a pint. This disturbed us. She had to know about fetal alcohol syndrome, right? We also wondered if it was illegal to serve alcohol to pregnant women.

Here is some information about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome if you don’t know about it. Fetal alcohol syndrome is growth, mental and physical problems that may occur in a baby when a mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy. Alcohol use appears to be most harmful during the first three months of pregnancy; however, drinking alcohol any time during pregnancy can be harmful. A baby with fetal alcohol syndrome may experience poor growth, decreased muscle tone and poor coordination, heart defects, delayed development and problems in thinking, speech, movement, or social skills, and problems with the face.

I did some research and found that according to law, a bartender is unable to refuse to serve a certain group of people, unless there is a reason for them not to, such as drunkenness. What this means is that, legally, a pregnant woman would be able to bring up a lawsuit against a bar if they made the decision to refuse serving her alcohol, based on discrimination.  

I would not serve alcohol to a pregnant woman even if it would get me fired. The baby can’t speak for itself and alcohol has negative effects on unborn babies.

There is a lot of controversy. We give service to mothers who feed their obese children fast food and let them buy violent video games for their kids, so why deny service to pregnant women? Some may argue that it would essentially reduce pregnant women to second-class citizens because we are denying them the basic constitutional rights. They may say it is not the waitress’s call to make. It’s not her body. It’s not her baby.

Many of us assume that women know the effects of alcohol on their baby. Unfortunately, there are some who do not. If a bar knowingly serves a pregnant woman alcohol without informing her that alcohol may have a devastating affect on her unborn baby, a pregnant woman very well may have a good lawsuit on her hands.

What do you think? Should it be illegal to serve alcohol to pregnant women?