Maternal infliction of harm via prenatal alcohol exposure – a public wrong

Bibliographic Data

ID11652437
AuthorsSamantha Ryan (0000-0003-3229-0658, Newcastle University, corresponding author), Monique Jonas (0000-0002-4660-1667, University of Auckland)
Year2024
Volume45
Issue1
Pages79-95
Publication date2024-11-19
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLegal Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0261-3875 • E-ISSN: 1748-121X
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/lst.2024.36
OpenAlexW4404501866
LanguageEN
References cited12

In recent years concern about Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) has intensified, prompting calls for societal action. Pregnant women's consumption of alcohol is increasingly surveilled, public health campaigns now promote abstinence, and in some jurisdictions, prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) resulting in FASD has received criminal sanction. This paper anticipates potential calls to criminalise PAE resulting in FASD by envisioning what such a case might look like. Applying Duff et al's framework for determining whether an act should be criminalised, we draw upon public health and jurisprudential discourses to trace the outline of an argument for framing maternal alcohol consumption causing injury to the child born alive as a public wrong and a crime. 1 We show how an ‘in principle’ case may be constructed, but argue that countervailing principles, including women's rights, and practical considerations, tell decisively against criminalisation

Alcohol · Biology · Environmental health · Gestation · Harm · Medical emergency · Obstetrics · Pregnancy · Prenatal alcohol exposure · Prenatal exposure · Psychiatry · Chemistry · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects · Psychology · Social Psychology · Genetics

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