AHA calls for Halls Creek alcohol ban for pregnant women

[Lee]

Source: http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/stor...5-2761,00.html

PREGNANT women in a West Australian community should be banned from buying alcohol, the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) says.
AHA chief executive Bradley Woods says government payments in the Kimberley community of Halls Creek have simply encouraged chronic alcoholics to drink more.

Mr Woods said 30 per cent of all children born in Halls Creek had foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and 80 to 90 per cent of all pregnant women in the town were chronic alcoholics.

``Halls Creek would be the ideal trial situation given that the medical experts in Halls Creek are saying it has 20 times higher incidences of FAS than anywhere else in WA,'' Mr Woods told AAP.

The WA Director of Liquor Licensing is investigating tough restrictions on the sale of liquor in Halls Creek.

The Halls Creek community could face similar restrictions to those imposed on other indigenous communities in the region, including Fitzroy Crossing and Oombulgurri.

Mr Woods said the AHA had made submissions for a ban on the sale of alcohol to pregnant women to the director and the WA racing and gaming minister.

Licensees in the Kimberley have self-regulated alcohol sales for a number of years, limiting trading hours and the volume of alcohol sold.

But moves to stop sales of alcohol to pregnant women had prompted calls of discrimination, Mr Woods said.

``It makes it a very difficult situation for them because one, they are seeing the chronic alcohol abuse of these women and legally there's nothing they can do to stop selling to them,'' he said.

Licensees in the region had instituted further restrictions in the past week as payments from the federal government's economic stimulus package flowed.

``At the moment, this period now, the last week and the next couple of weeks is the same as what occurred in December when the commonwealth provided these thousands of dollars into the bank accounts of at-risk alcoholics,'' Mr Woods said.

``It is very difficult when there is this massive injection of cash being put into bank accounts with no parameters around them and they go into the bank accounts of chronic alcoholics that are known by health officials.

``The commonwealth has been quite irresponsible and it's made our job a lot harder trying to manage these issues.''

Mr Woods said health services would need to be boosted and education programs put in place if such a ban were introduced.

Thoughts?

[WashoutThePain]

I like this idea. Why shouldnt women be allowed to drink when pregnant. They are ruining future lives. That shouldn't be acceptable. It would be like someone hitting another car while drunk driving. If the innocent driver has lasting damaged, it's not fair to them. Plus the drunk driver get's into trouble. Why not prevent future problematic children by stopping the source?

[TheWhiteTornado]

I agree with it,
If you're pregnant you should be willing to make sacrifices for that sort of commitment.
Drinking while you're pregnant isn't just careless, it's messing with the child's health.

[InSovietRussiaORGASMGotU]

Makes sense to me.

[Lee]

It's not about drinking - they can't even buy it! Also, why should the government have that much control over someones body?

[DoesThisLookInfected?]

Originally Posted by Lee

It's not about drinking - they can't even buy it! Also, why should the government have that much control over someones body?

Because, they're messing with future lives, not just theirs.

(P.S., I can see where this is going already. I'm not going to say it right now though. I will when it gets to that point).

[Hyper Sonic]

Originally Posted by Lee

It's not about drinking - they can't even buy it! Also, why should the government have that much control over someones body?

Let them buy the drink. In a game of Russian roulette between the State and the mother over foetal alcohol syndrome the State stands an excellent chance of winning. As Lee said why should the government choose?

Besides, what's to stop them getting it from elsewhere?

[Lee]

Smoking and eating unhealthy foods (aka, fast food) is also controlling someone elses future. Do we stop them from doing that too?

I should also mention that Halls Creek is a mostly indigenous Australians area.

[Acheron]

Originally Posted by Lee

I should also mention that Halls Creek is a mostly indigenous Australians area.

Hang on, is this more of the policy of restricting the normally legal actions of the natives "for their own good"? Like when the government banned alcohol and pornography from native-majority areas, and replaced people's money with vouchers so that they could only buy a few state-approved items at a few state-approved stores?

[thebigmole]

My question is how in the world do they expect to control it. I mean women don't even start to show until their second trimester. Some barely show at all, and some women look pregnant when they are not. How would anyone know whether a woman is pregnant or not, brand them?

[Blackwing]

I see a huge flaw with this.

[Double X]

I guess no one else will, so I will say it - the hypocrisy is overwhelming. Most of the people here are pro-choice I assume (as am I), so why can't they buy alcohol, but could just "murder" the baby?

I think it is a very stupid decision, but there is no reason to restrict them from drinking.

[udontno]

I'm torn on this one. I like the idea of saving the babies, but I want women to have the choice. They could need alcohol not to drink themselves, but for a family member such as a husband to consume. I also don't know how they will regulate it, that could be very difficult.

[WashoutThePain]

Originally Posted by thebigmole

My question is how in the world do they expect to control it. I mean women don't even start to show until their second trimester. Some barely show at all, and some women look pregnant when they are not. How would anyone know whether a woman is pregnant or not, brand them?

Good point... who can enforce this? If you aren't showing any signs, you could easily drink. Or heck, your husband could buy you alcohol and you could drink in your household with no one watching. Some women don't know they are pregnant for a long time. I don't think women should be allowed to drink when pregnant. But realistically, I don't think it is possible to enforce.