Agency: Bars Can't Ban Pregnant Women Or Refuse Them Drinks

[Purveyor]

NEW YORK — Pregnant women can't be kept out of New York City bars or refused alcoholic drinks just because they're expecting, under new city guidelines.

The city Human Rights Commission guidelines, released Friday, outline a variety of anti-discrimination measures and expound on a 2013 law that mostly concerns protections for pregnant workers.

But the guidance also warns against bouncers refusing to let mothers-to-be into bars or restaurants refusing to serve them alcohol, which the U.S. Surgeon General and major medical associations say women should avoid during pregnancy.

"Judgments and stereotypes about how pregnant individuals should behave, their physical capabilities and what is or is not healthy for a fetus are pervasive in our society and cannot be used as pretext for unlawful discriminatory decisions" in public venues, the new guidelines say.

If perhaps unusual, complaints from pregnant women about bar policies aren't unheard-of: The commission is currently looking into one case concerning a pregnant woman denied entry to a bar or club, said Lauren Elfant, an agency lawyer. She wouldn't give more detail because the case is open.

MORE...

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20160506/ARTICLES/160509871/-1/tom_samara_jr_?Title=Agency-Bars-can-t-ban-pregnant-women-or-refuse-them-drinks-

[yeoman6987]

1. But yet bartenders can stop serving to someone who had too many

I know I will be in the minority here but this is a horrible law.

[morningfog]

2. I hope you are in the minority.

It's pretty offensive of you to compare pregnant women to wasted drunks. Shame on you.

[yeoman6987]

4. I didn't. I just said that bartenders can stop people from drinking when they feel like they

had enough but can't tell anyone else?

[morningfog]

6. Why should they be able to?

[FrodosPet]

11. This

Each individual is responsible for their own safety.

Motorcycle helmet laws, seat belt laws, and server liability are all forms of oppression. Anyone who seeks self destruction should have the right to destroy themselves.

[cali]

5. Ugh.

I drank a modest amount of wine when I was pregnant and my doc had no problem with it

[yeoman6987]

7. I didn't think this thru. Hopefully getting better at not being dumb but it is not 100% yet.

[MADem]

8. In Europe they don't take this attitude about the alcohol.

At least not in France, Italy or Spain. Everything in moderation. With a meal, why not, they say?

I can't really speak to how they feel about it in Germany.


There's even a little pushback against this in USA but not as much.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323514404578652091268307904

[Atman]

9. What if my bartender asked to see my latest diabetes scan?

Actually, I'm fortunate, I don't have diabetes...but how is this any different? We're actually talking about making bartenders medical advisors? Seriously? This is the dumbest thing I've seen since the most recent article about Trump.

[HuckleB]

10. Bartenders aren't doctors, and the science is convoluted, which is why...

... recommendations err on the side of caution. My wife had a glass of Czech lager a couple times while we were in the Czech Republic at 30 to 32 weeks. Of course, she did! We were in the Czech Republic!

Hmm. That might explain a lot about our child, or, more likely, it had no effect at all. Nonetheless...

[Ilsa]

12. "No lunch meat for you! You're preggers!"

There's all kinds of stuff that pregnant women should or shouldn't consume. Why limit it to alcohol?

And who is to say whether someone is or isn't pregnant jyst by looking at them? It isn't always obvious either way.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

13. Make it one for my baby and one more for the road