It's now illegal for bars to refuse to serve alcohol to pregnant women in New York City.

New guidelines released Friday say pregnant women cannot be kept out of bars, or denied alcoholic drinks just because they're expecting.

"Judgments and stereotypes about how pregnant individuals should behave, their physical capabilities and what is or is not healthy for a fetus are pervasive in our society and cannot be used as pretext for unlawful discriminatory decisions," the guidelines say.

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Commission officials said the city's restaurants will continue to post warnings that drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause birth defects but, these health decisions are ultimately up to the woman, not the bartender.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com