In Estonia, pregnant women for "intentional" smoking will be punished with a prison

In Estonia, a bill has been developed, according to which pregnant women will be punished for harm to the health of the human embryo or fetus. For example, women who smoke during pregnancy will fall under the law, however, the court will still have to prove that the harm is done intentionally, Delfi reports.

The bill states that for the intentional harm to the woman in the uterus of the embryo or the fetus by damage, the use of substances or other acts, punishment in the form of imprisonment is up to five years or a fine of 100 to 1600 euros.

“The main emphasis is on intentional actions,” said Tanel Kalmet, adviser to the criminal law and proceedings of the Ministry of Justice. The statute of limitations of the crime under the new bill is five years. Doctors who will determine what exactly caused harm to health will help to prove the intention of actions. According to Kalmet, each case will definitely have to be considered separately. The opinions of experts on the developed bill were divided. Many support the initiative, while noting that difficulties may arise with determining the degree of guilt of people. It is also the question of whether to punish those who are harmful to the fetus by ignorance.

Last year, according to the Institute for Health Development, in Estonia, about 8.3% of pregnant women smoked cigarettes. “A child of a smoking mother comes to this world with a tearful and nervous - nicotino -evisent. Later, such children have problems with communication and study, they have poor self -control or hyperactivity,” said Dr. Tiyu Hyarm.