JAMES VS. JESSICAJUSTIN PATTON, DIANA CAMACHO, LAUREN SMITH

FACTS ABOUT THE CASE

James and Jessica were dating in high school and always hung out with the “partying crowd”

When Jessica found out that she was pregnant, she didn’t want to give up drinking while all her friends were still able to drink

James and Jessica’s mother both warned her about the dangers of drinking while pregnant, but Jessica did it anyway

FACTS ABOUT THE CASE (CONT.)

The summer after graduation, James and Jessica moved in together and both got jobs

That October afterwards, their baby boy Seth was born

In the years afterwards, Seth became very difficult to take care of, and Jessica was tired of having the same minimum-wage job while her friends were moving on with their lives

FACTS ABOUT THE CASE (CONT.)

Jessica eventually left James and Seth and paid James child support, but rarely took part in her weekly visit rights

Seth continued to have behavioral issues, so James got him tested

James told the doctor that Jessica drank during her pregnancy and the doctor diagnosed Seth with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

FACTS ABOUT THE CASE (CONT.)

Jessica’s grandfather had died and she had received an inheritance from the sale of his house

James asked Jessica if half of the money could be put into a trust fund for Seth, but she refused

James sued Jessica for negligence

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Although Jessica still drank during her pregnancy, she didn’t drink nearly as much as she had, thinking that if she only drank a little bit, then the baby would still be fine

Because she didn’t know that Seth would still become like this, she refused to put half of her inheritance into a trust fund because she didn’t think that her drinking was the cause of Seth’s condition

LAWS

◦Maternal Rights arguments are similar to Individual Rights arguments in that we are, under this approach, supposed to be willing to recognize the rights of the mother no matter the cost to the rest of the community. Regulation of the mother during pregnancy under this approach is seen as intrusive and burdensome. Therefore, we continue to respect the rights of the mother and fail to do the same for the unborn child or the rest of the community.

FAS CASES

Since its discovery almost 30 years ago, the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) has been characterized in the USA, as a major threat to public health. In part because FAS resonated with broader social concerns in the 1970s and 1980s about alcohol’s deleterious effect on American society and about a perceived increase in child abuse and neglect, it quickly achieved prominence as a social problem.

BACKGROUND (ALCOHOL)

The 21st Amendment of the Constitution was ratified, ending Alcohol Prohibition

Many state laws require that people only consume enough alcohol to have a .02 blood alcohol rating, which usually only equals one drink

Many states have a drinking age limit of 21Many states do not sale, export or import

alcohol beverages because they do not want to deal with the risk of doing this

CASE OUTCOME

We believe that Jessica should be found guilty of negligence in this case. We think that just because Jessica did not want to deal with Seth, or give up her drinking lifestyle in high school, she should still help James with payments for Seth, especially since he will have trouble paying for it. She is still responsible for what happened to Seth, and she should still help pay for the medical bills that will help Seth in the future.