New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio testifies during a state Senate Education Committee hearing on extending mayoral control of city schools in Albany, N.Y., on May 4, 2016. (Associated Press) **FILE**
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By
Bradford Richardson - The Washington Times - Monday, May 9, 2016
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Human Rights Commission released Friday new guidelines forcing bartenders in the city to serve pregnant mothers alcohol.
The guidelines say discriminatory “stereotypes” about what is in the best interest of the health of the “fetus” are impermissible by law.
“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 a pretext for unlawful discriminatory decisions in employment, housing, and public accommodations,” the guidelines state.
The new guidelines were issued to clarify the New York City Human Rights Law, which bars discrimination “on the basis of pregnancy or perceived pregnancy,” according to the guidelines.
The guidelines provide examples of actions that constitute discrimination toward the pregnant, one of which is “a restaurant policy that prohibits staff from serving pregnant individuals raw fish or alcohol.”
Another example says bouncers cannot deny “a pregnant individual entrance to a bar based on the belief that pregnant individuals should not be going to bars and/or drinking alcohol.”
The U.S. surgeon general and numerous major medical associations advise expectant mothers not to drink alcohol.
Separate New York City regulations require bars to post warnings about the potential of consuming alcohol while pregnant to cause birth defects.
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