Kayla Donahue
For women being tested
1/31/10
Everyone should get a fair chance to start out in life. I think that pregnant women should be tested. It is only fair for the baby to have a normal healthy chance in life.
All women should be tested while being pregnant. No women should be drinking, smoking or doing drugs while carrying an infant. If that’s what they are going to do then they do not need to have a child. If the women does drugs or drinks it is their responsibility to quit for the baby’s sake. If the mother does that the child doesn’t even have a chance at being healthy. The baby could develop FAS, serious problems, or disorders. They should be clean and want to bring a healthy baby into this world. Abusing alcohol or drugs while being pregnant should be a crime, it is not right and it tortures the fetus. It is endangering your baby and it’s bound to come out having problems or retardation. It is not fair to the baby when they cannot control the outcome of being born healthy. When they grow up they want a chance to be like every other healthy child in this world. It is sad looking at children that have problems that could have been prevented if the mother was clean while she was pregnant with the baby.
“Pregnant woman may be held criminally liable for any action during her pregnancy that would "endanger the life, health or comfort of her fetus.” I can agree with this I do think that pregnant women should be held criminally liable for the endangerment of their fetus. It is no one else’s problem or concern for the fetus but the mothers. No one can take blame for the mother’s action. There is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink while pregnant.
“In the following viewpoint, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that any alcohol consumption during pregnancy may be harmful to the unborn baby. According to the CDC, alcohol can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) that result in lifelong physical, mental, and behavioral disabilities. These problems can be prevented simply by not drinking alcohol while pregnant, it insists. The CDC is a government agency that works to protect the health and safety of all Americans.” FASDs can be prevented by not having the mother drink at all during pregnancy. This is common knowledge for mothers to know well being pregnant. If the mother thinks that she cannot handle it then she should consider not having kids, if she has a problem.
“When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, so does her unborn baby. There is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink while pregnant and there also does not appear to be a safe time to drink during pregnancy either. Therefore, it is recommended that women abstain from drinking alcohol at any time during pregnancy. Women who are sexually active and do not use effective birth control should also refrain from drinking because they could become pregnant and not know for several weeks or more.” This is a very good point, no alcohol is appropriate for a fetus. They say that a glass of wine once in awhile is okay and isn't harmful to the fetus, but I believe any alcohol substance is bad.
Marshall, Mary Faith. "Drug Tests of Pregnant Women Are Discriminatory." Opposing Viewpoints: Chemical Dependency. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale.
Century College Library. 31 Jan. 2010
Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and. "Any Alcohol Use During Pregnancy Is Harmful." Opposing Viewpoints: Alcohol. Ed. Andrea C. Nakaya. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Century College Library. 31 Jan. 2010
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I agree with you very much when you say that a woman shouldnt be drinking all during her pregnancy. It isnt even the babys choice because the mother doesnt care about her fetus. But it isnt just alcohol that the mother should be drinking. It also is anything that can potentially hurt the fetus in any way. This could be illicit drugs or even percription drugs. Unless told otherwise by her doctor that it is okay for her to be taking medicine. Like you mentioned a baby has no way to control what the mother is taking into her body, and it isnt fair at all for the fetus because they could have health issues or be killed before birth.
ReplyDeleteDrug testing is a very good way to determine if a mother is using any type of drugs. Usine these tests can determine if the fetus will not grow well and then they can use enhanced fetal surveillance to perform on the babies (Harris 44). This is a good way to see how babies are doing just in case a mother was on drugs or wouldnt stop using drugs. A lot of people say that doing urine tests to see if a mother is using drugs is an invasion on privacy. What is your intake on that? Test results are routinely reported to a hospital social service workers who in turn report them to the appropriate agency (44). This i think is not an invasion of privacy this i think is a way for doctors to know what they have to do to get a fetus healthy and to help the mother to get treatment so the baby can have a chance.
i have to say i disagree with you when you say that mothers should be imprisoned if they are using drugs while they are pregnant. I think something definatley needs to happen but i dont know if imprinsonment is the way to go. Woman who wont admit they are on drugs or are unwilling to drug abstinence, are unlikely to care if they have a test come back that is positive in their urine. So the only way maybe to change their behavior is to put them inprison, and then maybe they will start to care (44).
Harris, Wesley J. "Get Your Hands off my Urine." Search.ebscohost.com.cenproxy.mnpls.net. Points of view Reference Center Vol 23 Issue 3, Pg 41-44, 2009 April. Web. 30 Jan 2009.