In today's Erie Times-News I read "Laws regulate rights of unborn," which tells of states with laws protecting the fetus. It mentions Arkansas, where lawmakers are looking at making it a crime for a pregnant woman to smoke; Alabama, where prosecutors can charge anyone who attacks a pregnant woman and harms her fetus; and Utah, where a woman is serving probation for child endangerment after refusing to undergo a Caesarean section to save her twins, one of whom died. In Wisconsin and South Dakota, authorities can haul pregnant women into custody for abusing alcohol or drugs.
Lynne M. Paltrow of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women says the rights of reguses are starting to come first and the rights of women are coming last. I don't necessarily agree.
I see where this can be a sticky situation. But except in a case of rape, I can't see how pregnancy is anything but a choice. With pills and patches available with prescriptions and condoms sold at drug and grocery stores (and let's not forget the old stand-by, abstinence), there's no good reason for anyone to be pregnant who doesn't want to be. In the sense of being all-inclusive about this, let's include morning-after pills and abortions, too.
Using all this as logic, a woman in her second or third trimester should be willing, if not happy, to be pregnant. You would think that such a woman would be willing to follow the doctor's or midwife's orders. Wouldn't you want what's best for the child?
The Surgeon General offers tips for mothers and mothers-to-be at this site. Their tips include avoiding alcohol, not smoking, eating healthy, using the proper car seat, getting prenatal care and having your child immunized. These, along with most of the circumstances mentioned in the newspaper article (with the exception of the Caesarean section woman), do not cause harm to the mother. And not following them CAN cause harm to the baby.
No matter whether you believe life begins at conception, when the embryo becomes a fetus or at birth, you cannot argue with the fact that the child's quality of life may very well depend on choices the mother-to-be makes during pregnancy. Birth weight, brain development, development of the spine -- these all can be affected by the pregnant mom.
I can't say I think it's a bad thing some states are making these laws. Women have a lifetime to have a glass of wine with dinner and during that lifetime it only takes nine months to form a new life. Don't we owe it to the children we choose to bring into this world to give them the best possible outcome? Can't we pass on having a cigarette or drink. We can't control down syndrome or autism, but we can control things such as fetal alcohol syndrome or, God forbid, crack babies. Life is tough enough to figure out without starting with two strikes against you.
There's no harm in giving the baby-to-be nine months of mom living a healthy lifestyle. And in the end, it might just be good for mom, too.