The law takes some odd turns, but claiming that a woman who drinks during pregnancy might be behaving criminally towards her unborn child is reaching for the absurd. Yet that is more or less where lawyers in the court of appeal are heading by arguing that a pregnant womans alcoholism is equivalent to attempted manslaughter of her unborn daughter. The aim is to win a payout from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, which would lift a burden from the council that pays for the childs care now. It would also risk making any woman who drinks to excess in pregnancy a potential criminal.
The legal case rests on the argument that a foetus has an existence as a person with rights that can be balanced against its mothers. This is an argument that, in recognition of the unique biological relationship between a mother and her foetus, has always been denied. But if it were accepted, then the local authority could claim that a mothers drinking amounted to a criminal act against her daughter, for which the child could get compensation. There are said to be 80 similar cases in the pipeline.
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from Pregnancy | The Guardian http://ift.tt/10w5K8Y
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