Injuring the Unborn: Smoking and Drinking Must Be Avoided During Pregnancy

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Pregnancy is a life changing event for women. In fact, it is a selfless act. Almost all women change their lifestyle while being pregnant. For example, they change or control their diet and restrict certain activities. However, some women who are pregnant may still drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. The risk that an expecting mother takes while drinking or smoking is a higher probability that this behavior may cause harm to the unborn baby inside her womb. Doctors recommend that all pregnant women should refrain from cigarettes or alcohol when they are pregnant. Women should not drink because it is medically proven that the outcome will be a baby born prematurely, or with a low birth weight. There may also be respiratory problems and the baby may have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). The mother may even have a miscarriage. It is because of this plethora of problems associated with smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol while a woman is pregnant that doctors recommend against it. So, if a woman drinks alcohol or smokes while knowing she is pregnant, should she be charged with the crime of harming or assaulting the helpless human inside her? I believe she should be charged since the helpless unborn child existing within her is defenseless.
There is a case where the unborn child is counted as a living human being and another proving that the fetus in the womb is purely nonexistent human. A 38 year-old man from El Paso, Texas was charged with two counts of murder after killing a pregnant woman and her unborn child (Evia). But in the state of Texas, abortion is legal, so how can this case be a double homicide whereas entering an abortion clinic to eliminate the life of an unborn is legal? In both of these examples you equa...

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...009. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. .
Man charged with murder in deaths of pregnant woman, unborn baby. N.p., 24 Dec. 20013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. .
Mokate, Tefo. Is it safe to drink alcohol during pregnancy?. BabyCenter, July 2013. Web. 21 May 2014. .
Prosecuting “Bad” Mothers. N.p., 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. .
Schwarz, Richard H. Drinking, Smoking, and Your Pregnancy. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. .

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