New Legislation Prosecuting Pregnant Women in the NT Proposed
Monday 17 March 2014 @ 2.00 p.m. | Crime
Like the current issues in NSW happening around Zoe's Law, and the rights of the unborn foetus, NT has also proposed legislation that could see pregnant women prosecuted or restrained if they drink dangerously because they are infringing on the rights of unborn children.
The Problem
NT Attorney-General John Elferink says something needs to be done about the large number of children growing up in the territory with foetal alcohol syndrome.
"I lay the blame for that squarely on the feet of a passive welfare system that is expecting nothing from the recipients of that welfare...As a consequence, in this jurisdiction, every fortnight the Federal Government spends millions of dollars and then we spend millions of dollars cleaning up the mess that creates."
The Proposed Legislation
In an interview with ABC's Lateline, the Attorney-General said that his government is considering tough new measures that could stop pregnant women from drinking alcohol, including criminal penalties.
"Here in the NT, without pre-empting a cabinet decision, we are currently exploring the antenatal rights of the unborn child...Either to prosecute or alternatively to restrain [pregnant women] from engaging in conduct which harms their unborn child."
Reaction to the Proposal
Opposition health spokeswoman Nicole Manison expressed guarded support for the idea.
But Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education director Caterina Giorgi says it is not the right approach:
"There isn't great enough awareness across Australia that alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes conditions like fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and that what we need to do is we need to raise this awareness and we need to try and support people..If our aim is to prevent these conditions in the future, if our aim is to minimise the harms that could result from these conditions, then our primary focus should be on supporting both the woman and her child through appropriate treatment options."
Russell Goldflam, from the Criminal Lawyers Association of Northern Territory, says fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a growing problem that could overwhelm the social welfare and health systems. However, he agrees criminalisation is not the solution.
"It will just potentially result in the criminalisation, the incarceration of people who are, the last thing they need and the last thing that can help them is to turn them into prisoners."
Dr John Boffa from the People's Alcohol Action Coalition in Alice Springs says he does not want to see drinking among pregnant women criminalised but he does want the unborn child to be included in the state's child protection act:
"When we know that there is a problem and we know there is a woman heavily drinking antenatally and not stopping, there needs to be a way to refer that woman to the child protection system."
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