Sacrifice

I'm going to come right out and say that this post may offend people and may make me appear judgmental. If it does, my intent is to protect children who aren't allowed to make their own choices or can't because they have not been born yet.

This video http://abcnews.go.com/video/video?id=4232465 (can someone please teach me how to embed a link?) hits a very hot nerve that I have. I wonder if a mom is not willing to make the sacrifice of not drinking during pregnancy, what other areas might she not want to make a sacrifice once the child's born. I know that's a judgment statement but this is an innocent child we're talking about. Who protects it? Drinking during pregnancy causes brain damage. There is no question about it. The frequency of drinking and timeframe during pregnancy may differ the brain damage but it's still there. I am not out to bash moms. I'm out to protect children.

I have parented a child with suspected FASD and it is hard. I am an acquaintance of a mom who is parenting two children with FASD and her world has become so volatile she had to make her blog private. It is a sad day when parents cannot have a support system in place when parenting their child with FASD and believe me that her blog is a support system for families.

I realize the list is long of things to avoid during pregnancy but alcohol impairs the brain which is why we have drunk driving laws. Therefore if one or two drinks impair the brain of the adult to the point that they can't drive, what does it do when all that alcohol crosses the placenta and gets to a baby's tiny brain.

I have a friend who fostered a teen who drank all the time. She would go out on weekends and get riproaring drunk. She ended up giving birth to a baby who was missing body parts and ended up dying within minutes. Who was protecting that child?

The argument could be said that just like abortion, it's a mom's right to make her own choices. But when her choices affect someone else like an unborn child then that child needs to have a say in the matter. I've had an opinion about smoking around children that I've kept to myself as I have friends who have children and smoke. But I firmly believe that smoking in an enclosed area (car, home) where children are present should not be tolerated. Not all children are allowed to say that they want to step out of the car or leave the house if the parent is smoking. Again it's not intended for judgment on the part of the parent, just protection for the child. We've already decided to tell the parents how they may carry their kids in their cars? How is telling them not to smoke any different?

I'm very passionate about speaking for the rights of children. And I'm not talking rights to have a cellphone or some petty right like that. I'm talking the right to clean air. The right to a brain with all cells present at birth.

I'm sorry if my words offended anyone but I am not sorry that I said them. And now we'll see how many friends I have left after this post. So I better step down off my soapbox.