If your conscience is so bothered by this woman taking a drink that you refuse to do your job, then say something to her.

Why not?

Of course I would. I'd do it because it's my job, and it's not my place to pass moral judgement on customers. Maybe if I thought they were drinking to dangerous levels, I'd hint or something, but outright refuse? Nah.

Here's my incredibly invalid comparison: Pharmacists who don't believe in abortion refuse to sell the morning-after pill, thereby making actual abortion more likely. Is this right?

Because it is not my place to lecture customers, cause a scene, or refuse the woman the "right" (puke) to poison the child she is voluntarily carrying.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome makes me so pissed of, that there is no way you could get me to serve alcohol to a pregnant woman. I simply refuse to do it.

It is a completely avoidable syndrome, and the fact that a woman can purposely poison her future child just makes me want to pull my hair out.

I feel you become a parent to a child the moment you decide to keep that pregnancy, so anything you PURPOSELY do that harms that fetus is child abuse in my book.

Well, that doesn't make any sense to me. If you feel so passionately about it, then you should speak up to her for the baby's sake instead of the easy "it's not my place" way out, especially if you've deemed it your place to refuse service.

birch

i agree with you and i think that id have to say something to the woman. i dont think i would just say "nah sorry i wont serve it to you" and walk away
id tell her " maybe another server/waitress can help you out? but im not comfortable with serving alcohol to pregnant women"

you can not refuse her.. it is not against the law.. It’s her choice to drink.. How can you refuse her? . you are enforcing your rules without a law.. She might even be able to sue you if she wasn't drunk.. discrimination..
I wish you could, but I think Not..

A person should be free to act according to his or her conscience eiri should not be made to serve a pregnant woman if it goes against her beliefs, but neither should a doctor or a nurse be forced to give condoms, birth control or abortionefficants if there beliefs do not permit them.

The woman does not need to drink in eiri's bar just as a woman need not see that doctor or nurse.

i finally agree iwth you guest!!!!!!!

It is AGAIN not my right or my place to lecture her!! She knows what she's doing, and I firmly believe that it is not MY place to change her mind. Leave that to someone who likes forcing their opinions down other people's throats. Me? I'd rather step aside.

Just as I hate people preaching in my face about Jesus, I would hate to be accused of preaching at a pregnant woman about poisoning her child.

Whether I believe it is right or not isn't the point. It's legal, and thats that. Maybe I'll work on getting a law passed about that, but a law like that would invade so many privacies it's not even funny, so I know it'll never happen.

Exactly. There are other waitresses that can serve the pregnant woman a drink; it doesn't personally have to be me!

I haven't been on much to post about this But the place i work at i'm the only one here. I run the whole place. It's not that big lol.. But i personally don't feel right serving a drink to a woman that is pregnant. I know it's MY job, but i don't have anyone else to ask ot help out with it. So there for i'm stuck with it. I know it's not right, but there ARE women out there that do drink while pregnant knowing perfectly well what the dangers are. And don't give a caca.

To me, poisoning a fetus so that it can come out FAS is a much bigger deal than someone eating themselves into a heart attack.

I personally think women who treat their bodies that way while they are pregnant are ignorant trash. They make me sick.

I agree wholeheartedly.

I feel sort of the same way about a pregnant woman who intentionally poisons the fetus through alcohol, saline or kills the fetus directly by curate, vaccume asperation or any other means.

I dont think it is sick per sey perhaps ignorant, misguided, heartless and in some cases just plain sick.

Just a quick question: does the same go for a pregnant woman wanting to buy cigarettes?

Actually, this is something I've never thought about. I work in a supermarket so it concerns me quite a lot, if a pregnant woman wanted serving with alcohol I actually dunno what I'd do. She would say it's for someone else, not her, will probably get offended then I'll get wrong off my boss.
I suppose it would be more of an issue for someone working behind a bar.

"does the same go for a pregnant woman wanting to buy cigarettes? "

I dunno about this one because the risks are less, again everything in moderation, a pregnant woman smoking to excess is obviously dodgy but i think the warning on the ciggerette packets such as "smoking while pregnant may harm your baby" is enogh to inform women of the risks. We can not deny alcohol or ciggarettes to these women as a society but again each individual shop worker, bar man ,doctor etc every human being should be free to act according to their beliefs but obviously if the doctor believes that the woman is putting her child at risk by excess drinking or smoking then I believe that doctor has the right to act according to his medical opinion and get her institutionalised medical help for the childs protection.

I used to work as a bartender, and we had the freedom to deny entry to the bar for any reason, any time. We could also deny service anytime, for any reason.... or better yet just don't give a reason. A bar/casino is a private establishment. Noone as the "right" to enter a private establishment and the "right" to drink there.

Technically, the pregnant woman has the right to drink... but she can do it elsewhere.

As for cigarettes, in Ontario we have big photo health disclaimers on our cigarette packs. One shows a limp cigarette warning that cigarettes can cause erectile problems. One is a picture of a blackened lung. I would purposefully find the pack with a pregnant woman on it to sell to her.

Limp cigarette (for a laugh): http://www.canadiandesignresource.ca/offic ialgallery/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/duma rier small.jpg

You mean like in abortion; where the innocent human being as you say does not get a choice?

I don't think you're being true to yourself.

If I saw a man on the street kicking a dog I could not drive on by without saying something; I would not feel good about myself. You spoke so passionately about this subject I don't see how you can turn aside and let the woman drink the alcohol and feel good about yourself. Maybe it is your place in life to speak up about this.

There is a time and place for "preaching" and when you see something like this happening, it might be the time and place. Just imagine if everywhere, everyone felt it wasn't their place to "lecture" this pregnant lady, and she drank all the time. What if just one person sincerely sitting down and talking to her about it could make a world of difference. It's possible.