Women on social media are outraged after a leaked draft of the World Health Organization’s, WHO, Global Alcohol Action Plan for 2022-2030 discussed the importance of “prevention of drinking among pregnant women and women of childbearing age,” as reported by Newsweek.
Preventing pregnant women from drinking is reasonable given the damaging effects of fetal alcohol syndrome, but preventing the majority of women from drinking because they are simply able to have children at some from the age of 14 (or so) to the age of 54 (or so) is absolutely absurd.
WHO has since come out with a statement to Newsweek, stating “The current draft of WHO's global action plan does not recommend abstinence of all women who are of an age at which they could become pregnant. However, it does seek to raise awareness of the serious consequences that can result from drinking alcohol while pregnant, even when the pregnancy is not yet known."
The unwanted and sexist “advice” from WHO pushes the idea that women should be seen as potential babymakers and not actual people. Women should not have to live a life of caution and abstinence just because they have a uterus. Let’s not let a person’s mere ability to have children dictate how they go about their life.
Photo by Kevin Turcios on Unsplash
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Payton Toomey is an editorial intern at BUST and a student at the University of Arizona studying Journalism and Information Sciences and eSociety. She loves writing about mental health, feminism and pop culture. You can follow her on Twitter @PaytonToomey.
