The WHO’s first draft of a global alcohol action plan has met with fierce opposition: In the document, it recommends women of childbearing age not to drink alcohol.
No alcohol for women between the ages of 18 and 50, regardless of whether they are pregnant or not – this is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its draft for a global alcohol action plan for the years 2022 to 2030. By not using the Consumption of alcoholic beverages is intended to protect the health of women of childbearing potential, as alcohol could reduce the chances of childbirth. Specifically, the plan states: “Appropriate attention should be paid to preventing the onset of alcohol consumption in children and adolescents and preventing alcohol consumption in pregnant women and women of childbearing age”.
“A classic idiocy of the World Health Organization”
This first draft was then heavily criticized and the WHO was accused of sexism. “It is extremely worrying to see how the World Health Organization is jeopardizing the hard-won rights of women by trying to control their bodies and decisions in this way,” said British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) executive director Clare Murphy , contrary to the WHO draft in a press release. “By treating all women as little more than receptacles for 40 years of their lives, the WHO is reducing women to little more than their reproductive capabilities.” In addition, women who could not or did not want to have children were not even considered in the draft. “The narrative that women must be prevented from posing a risk to fetuses – even those that do not exist – is used around the world to monitor and criminalize women who make decisions during pregnancy.” Murphy calls for an urgent review of the document.
Christopher Snowdon of the Think Tank Institute of Economic Affairs also found clear words for the draft and said the recommendation was “unscientific, condescending and absurd and a classic idiocy of the World Health Organization,” reports “The Telegraph”. Matt Lambert of the Portman Group, which represents British breweries and distilleries, describes the advice of the WHO as “sexist and paternalistic”.
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