In the UK, a mother is accused of drinking excessively while pregnant despite warnings from her doctors that it could cause serious, irreversible damage to her unborn baby.
The child was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and placed with a foster family under the guardianship of council. This council has taken this to the Court of Appeal and is seeking compensation for the child by arguing the mother knowingly injured her unborn child and therefore it was a criminal act.
If the council is successful, it would be significant for similar future cases. The council is already representing 80 children nationally who were impacted by alcohol exposure in utero.
What do you think? Should mothers be criminally charged for abusing alcohol and/or other drugs while pregnant?
