Lemme see if I can create a hypothetical situation to highlight our differences.
A woman has condition X for which she takes Y, which treats her condition very well. Y is well-known to cause severe birth defects. Should it be illegal for her to take Y during pregnancy?
My answer is No, It's Not A Legal Issue. Now, am I going to shun her? Quite probably, knowing me. (This makes me go off on a tangent: maybe I should have a helluva lot more compassion for her condition than to judge her so harshly.) But to me, it's not a legal issue, because if she is not competent to not take this action, then Pandora's Box is now open: clearly, if she's not competent enough to make proper decisions about her baby, then she can't be trusted to drive or vote.
Put bluntly, I'd rather most women have complete agency over their bodies if the cost is that there are a few preventable birth defects. I think this -- the chances that a drink of wine will cause problems for a fetus (and therefore, future person) are so small as to be possibly non-existent -- highlights it really well. Where does that line get drawn? Are you okay with a 0.001% risk? 1%? 40%? It's not for anyone to make that decision for you.
no subject
A woman has condition X for which she takes Y, which treats her condition very well. Y is well-known to cause severe birth defects. Should it be illegal for her to take Y during pregnancy?
My answer is No, It's Not A Legal Issue. Now, am I going to shun her? Quite probably, knowing me. (This makes me go off on a tangent: maybe I should have a helluva lot more compassion for her condition than to judge her so harshly.) But to me, it's not a legal issue, because if she is not competent to not take this action, then Pandora's Box is now open: clearly, if she's not competent enough to make proper decisions about her baby, then she can't be trusted to drive or vote.
Put bluntly, I'd rather most women have complete agency over their bodies if the cost is that there are a few preventable birth defects. I think this -- the chances that a drink of wine will cause problems for a fetus (and therefore, future person) are so small as to be possibly non-existent -- highlights it really well. Where does that line get drawn? Are you okay with a 0.001% risk? 1%? 40%? It's not for anyone to make that decision for you.