Should having a baby addicted to drugs be a crime?

I heard a segment on a fetal abuse law in Tennessee the other day. Interesting discussion with lots of voices on both sides. Even mothers charged were split. Some say it drove them to get clean while others were worried they would be arrested or lose their child so they didn’t go to the doctor and had no prenatal care. Thoughts?

I’m agin’ it.

I heard the NPR piece about it, and while I understand the motivation to discourage pregnant women from using drugs (and users from getting pregnant), I don’t see that this can cause more good than harm. Addicts use. They are not in charge, their addiction is. What causes an addict to choose to break free will vary wildly, but in my experience laws don’t have much effect in that choice. I’m glad that some women–one woman, really per the article–find the law helps them choose sobriety. But the number of women who will choose against prenatal care out of fear is IMO going to be much greater. And I’d rather have an addict see her doctor, with the persuasion to stop using that will entail, than choose not to out of fear or prosecution.

No. The whole thing is a myth. Poverty is a far more statistically significant cause of medical issues in infants.

FWIW, here’s NPR’s take. Not sure it’s what the OP is referencing, but it’s the one I heard.

I heard the same segment, and thought that the point made about the overreaction to crack babies in the 80s was valid. (Crack babies and babies detoxing from opiates make *fabulous *, heart-wrenching TV, but there is no indication that these babies, with medical care during detox, don’t just become regular kids. Alcohol or tobacco, OTOH…)

We know that the women charged with having a baby addicted to drugs will be overwhelmingly poor, and will overwhelmingly be without social support when they’re pregnant. And will be overwhelmingly unable to get into a proper inpatient rehab center *because *they’re poor. And will be overwhelmingly in states where the choice to continue a pregnancy if you’re a poor addict is made for you by the right-to-lifers (there are 14 abortion providers in Tennessee, according to the Guttmacher Institute, and no one whose insurance is from the ACA exchange can have an abortion as a covered medical service; it’s cash only).

So I say hell, no.

I would think it would increase the likelihood of an abortion. If you are trying to promote positive outcomes, how about making it illegal for hospitals/detox/rehab centers to turn away pregnant women who want to clean up? Or just provide funding to support their detox/rehab throughout the pregnancy?

I heard the same segment, and IIRC one of the women they interviewed had already had two of her children taken away from her due to her drug habit. So in her case the idea of “fetal assault” was kind of a red herring - she was an unfit mother whether she was pregnant or not, and revoking or extending this law to other states isn’t going to change anything very much.

Regards,
Shodan

That should be appropriately fetus-focused to pass Republican scrutiny. “We want you to be clean just as long as you’re baking that baby. Once the bun’s out of the oven, feel free to go back to shooting meth into your eyeballs.”