A British girl born with an alcohol-related disorder wants her mom to fork over cash because she drank too much while pregnant.
The 7-year-old child and her guardians are demanding the right to sue the mother for the “crime of violence,” The Times of London reported.
The mother, who was 17 when she was pregnant, drank bottles of vodka and cans of high-alcohol beer daily, the girl’s lawyers told the Court of Appeal in London. The names of both the girl and her mother are being withheld for legal reasons.
Experts testified that the girl’s fetal-alcohol-spectrum disorder had been caused by the heavy drinking.
The child’s lawyers argued it was a criminal offense, claiming the boozing was “a noxious thing — a destructive thing” that caused the girl bodily harm.
The case hinges on whether the child can legally be considered a “person” at the time the injury took place.
In December, the Upper Tribunal of the Administrative Appeals Chamber ruled that unborn children do not qualify as people. The girl’s lawyers are appealing that ruling.