It may sound a little out there but can’t say this isn’t for a good cause, right? Bars in Alaska are soon going to offer free pregnancy tests for their lady customers to make sure there’s no bun in the oven before they booze it up. Find out more after the jump!
Pregnancy test dispensers will soon be available in 20 different bar and restaurant bathrooms in Alaska as part of a state funded effort by the University of Alaska to try to prevent fetal alcohol syndrome, according to reports. Good thing too, considering Alaska has the highest rate of the tragic condition in the country.
“This isn’t targeting chronic alcoholics,” said Jody Allen Crowe, founder of the nonprofit Healthy Brains For Children, which launched a similar initiative in 2012 in Minnesota and helped design the program for Alaksa. “Right now 50 percent of pregnancies across the nation are unexpected. This is really focusing on women who are casual drinkers, people who would never drink if they knew they were pregnant.”
The project in Minnesota, which not only makes pregnancy tests available at some bars and restaurants but convenience stores and youth centers as well, has proven to be successful.
“We hear positive anecdotes from people,” Crowe said. “We’re seeing evidence that the message, ‘Think before you drink,’ is working.”
