To: Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Tell the CDC: Amend your statement on alcohol consumption by women of child-bearing age
The CDC recently called for all women of childbearing age, who are not using contraception, to avoid consuming alcohol entirely. This recommendation, while potentially well-intentioned, removes agency from women to make their own informed choices about alcohol consumption and their reproductive health.
Join me in calling on the CDC to amend their statement today.
Join me in calling on the CDC to amend their statement today.
Why is this important?
Earlier this week, the CDC issued a statement recommending that doctors instruct women of childbearing age who are not using contraception to avoid all alcohol, so as to decrease their hypothetical baby's risk for fetal alcohol syndrome.
While this statement may be well-intentioned, in reality it creates unrealistic expectations and attempts to remove the agency of women in making their own informed choices around their contraception and alcohol consumption. While the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy remain unclear, attempting to enforce such unrealistic expectations will do little to protect unborn children from harm.
It is the duty of the CDC to provide necessary, realistic guidance that will increase public health. Their current directives, which aim to police women's bodies, do not meet that goal and must be amended today!
While this statement may be well-intentioned, in reality it creates unrealistic expectations and attempts to remove the agency of women in making their own informed choices around their contraception and alcohol consumption. While the risks of alcohol consumption during pregnancy remain unclear, attempting to enforce such unrealistic expectations will do little to protect unborn children from harm.
It is the duty of the CDC to provide necessary, realistic guidance that will increase public health. Their current directives, which aim to police women's bodies, do not meet that goal and must be amended today!