Conceiving Risk, Bearing Responsibility: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the Diagnosis of Moral Disorder

In American society, the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy is considered dangerous, irresponsible, and in some cases illegal. Pregnant women who have even a single drink routinely face openly voiced reproach. Yet fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in infants and children is notoriously difficult to diagnose, and the relationship between alcohol and adverse birth outcomes is riddled with puzzles and paradoxes.

Sociologist Elizabeth M. Armstrong uses fetal alcohol syndrome and the problem of ...