M. thought she was doing the right thing. Prosecuting Women for Drug Use During Pregnancy: The Criminal Justice System Should Step Out and the Affordable Care Act Should Step Up. Twelve opinions noted that other jurisdictions ruled similarly when faced with such cases. In 2018, an estimated 12% of U.S. residents 18 years or older reported current unhealthy drug use in a national survey. Such inhumane responses to drug use can only exist because they are almost exclusively reserved for poor people and people of color. A total of 24 published judicial opinions met the inclusion criteria (Table 1). Drug use during pregnancy is a severe problem worldwide because it exposes not only the woman but also her developing baby to harmful substances. The report also found that Kentuckys child protection agency was not making enough efforts to prevent removal or re-entry to foster care. Smoking during and after pregnancy also increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In Alabama and South Carolina, high courts have interpreted existing child endangerment and chemical endangerment statutes to allow prosecution of drug-using pregnant women and new mothers. 1. Professional advocacy may best be directed at state legislatures. As part of CDCs efforts to prevent overdoses and substance use-related harms, CDC is taking specific actions to prevent opioid use disorder among pregnant women and women who could become pregnant and to make sure women with opioid use disorder get proper treatment. 1. A mother taking illegal drugs during pregnancy increases her risk for anemia, blood and heart infections, skin infections, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases. The pregnancies had the following outcome: no adverse effects of the substance reported (n = 12), withdrawal symptoms (n = 7), prematurity and/or small size at birth (n = 5), death in the neonatal period (n = 3), and stillbirth (n = 2). MAT is the standard of care for treating people with opioid use disorder especially pregnant women, as quitting opioids too suddenly during pregnancy can result in complications. Severalstudiesdocument that hospital staff disproportionately drug test and report to child protective services low-income women andwomen of color. For tips and advice to quit smoking, you can also visit How to Quit and Pregnancy, Motherhood, and Smoking. Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, the average . 19 stateshave either created or funded drug treatment programs specifically targeted to those who are pregnant, and 17 states and the District of Columbia provide pregnant people with priority access to state-funded drug treatment programs. Civil child abuse proceedings are explicitly permitted in 18 states.9 These may lead to termination of parental rights, but not to prison sentences. Across the country, hundreds of pregnant women and new mothers have been accused of child abuse or other crimes when they or their newborns tested positive for controlled substances. 2015), The prevalence of illicit-drug or alcohol use during pregnancy and discrepancies in mandatory reporting in Pinellas County, Florida, Substance use during pregnancy and postnatal outcomes, Punishing pregnant drug users: enhancing the flight from care, Women's perspectives on screening for alcohol and drug use in prenatal care, Drug use and limited prenatal care: an examination of responsible barriers, Universal screening for alcohol and drug use and racial disparities in child protective services reporting, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women and American Society of Addiction Medicine, Committee Opinion No 524. The state argued that the drug delivery occurred via the umbilical cord in the period after birth but before the cord was clamped. "Georgia Supreme Court Orders C-Section Mother Nature Reverses on Appeal." . Many states recognize this as an act of child abuse on the unborn fetus . Criminalization has taken many forms including, but not limited to, the passage of fetal assault laws, policies that punish or penalize pregnant people for substance use during pregnancy, and the practice of judicial intervention or legal attempts at coercion for refusal of care during pregnancy. If a woman is drinking alcohol during pregnancy, it is never too late to stop. You should also speak to your GP, midwife or a drug support service if you're regularly taking prescribed medicines. Approximately 700 women in the United States die every year . Opioid abuse, dependence, and addiction in pregnancy, Medication assisted treatment in US drug courts: results from a nationwide survey of availability, barriers and attitudes, Maternal-fetal rights and substance abuse: gestation without representation, Pregnant women and the use of corrections restraints and substance use commitment, New Jersey Division of Child Protection & Permanency v. For the purpose of this review, we identified published legal decisions regarding women criminally charged with a crime against a fetus or child for substance use during pregnancy from appellate level courts. App. Cases of Women Charged With Child Abuse-Related Crimes for Substance Use During Pregnancy The substances related to the charges were cocaine ( n = 15), methamphetamine ( n = 10), heroin ( n = 2), marijuana ( n = 1), oxycodone ( n = 1), and unspecified prescription pills ( n = 1). For example, the court held in State v. Gethers that, fear of prosecution could deter pregnant drug abusers from seeking treatment for drug problems.26 Thus, all of the courts whose decisions functionally overturned convictions or dismissed charges did so on the basis of legislative intent, but varied with respect to additional supporting legal arguments. Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. Opioids are a class of drugs used to manage pain, but also have serious risks, such as addiction. The mother was a drug addict. Such laws may discourage people from seeking prenatal care. Cocaine use during pregnancy poses severe issues for affected babies both short and long-term. The substances being abused during pregnancy can include alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and opioid addiction. In other words, the key concern in the judicial decisions to date has turned on the courts' interpretation of legislative intent. Apr 20, 2022, M. Forrest Behne, Craig Waleed, Meghan Peterson, and Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein Three of the nine mothers arrested that year tested positive for marijuana, and all were held on $100,000 bonds. More mothers may soon know M.s pain. In Alabama and South Carolina, the majority of state supreme court judges determined that the plain meaning of the word child includes a fetus, or in their term, an unborn child.16,,18 In the other 17 states that considered the question, the opposite conclusion was reached: that is, a fetus is not a child in the eyes of the law in those jurisdictions. Call 1-800-GEORGIA to verify that a website is an official website of the State of Georgia. Dehumanizing Discourse, Anti-drug Law, and Policy in America: A "Crack Mother's" Nightmare . The search yielded 77 published cases, of which, on closer review, 16 were found to be relevant. Drug Use by State: Problem Areas. Georgia Marijuana Statutes At least two states, Arizona and Kentucky, have just made it easier to terminate the rights of mothers who use controlled substances while pregnant. Prescription Opioid Pain Reliever Use During Pregnancy, The US Opioid Crisis & Maternal Infant Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Otherwise, the law on drug testing newborns varies from state to state. 1992), Johnson v. State, 602 So.2d 1288 (Fla. 1992), State v. Gray, 584 N.E.2d 710 (Ohio 1992), Commonwealth v. Welch, 864 S.W.2d 280, 283 (Ky. 1993), Sheriff, Washoe County, Nevada v. Encoe, 885 P.2d 596 (Nev. 1994), Collins v. State, 890 S.W.2d 893 (Tex. Hair has been recognized as a possible alternate test specimen, but wider acceptance of hair testing must await . The vast majority ofTemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding, or federal welfare dollars meant to help the poor, is not spent on assistance to poor families, but rather on placing and keeping children in the foster care system. The Florida Supreme Court found the medical testimony inadequate to support the trial court's finding that a delivery occurred during the birth process, even if the criminal statute had been applicable.29 In Arms v. State, Arms was also convicted of a drug delivery charge that was overturned by the state supreme court, in part on the grounds that the relevant statute, does not expressly criminalize the passive bodily processes that results in a mother's use of a drug entering her unborn, or newborn child's system.45. Criminal or civil penalties discourage women from seeking prenatal care they need for fear of having their drug use discovered, critics say. Priority applies to pregnant people referred for treatment. Federal agencies collaborate with both state and local law enforcement to ensure effective controls over substances that are deemed to be a danger to individuals and to society. Many substance use treatment centers do not offer MAT due to the stigma associated with it, and those centers that do provide MAT have not necessarily fulfilled their responsibility toprioritizepregnant women. State Policies on Substance Use During Pregnancy. In Kilmon v. State, the court said, Keywords: laws, policies, substance use, care, treatment, infants, neglect Created Date: 8/17/2022 9:48:14 PM Since 1973, authorities in at least 45 states have tried to prosecute women for exposing unborn children to drugs. Learn more at Alcohol Use in Pregnancy from the Division of Birth Defects and Infant Disorders. CDC twenty four seven. To receive email updates about this page, enter your email address: We take your privacy seriously. Drugs with evidence of fetal harm were widely used. To learn about CDC activities to educate the public about the harms of tobacco use, visit Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) from the Office on Smoking and Health. CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. Quitting smoking is one of the most important ways you can protect your health and the health of your baby. These cases typically involve significant civil matters, such as termination of parental rights or civil commitment to inpatient treatment facilities.55,56 There are instances where women have faced civil complaints for behavior that is consistent with current standards of care for medical treatment of addictions. Criminal Charges for Child Harm from Substance Use in Pregnancy, Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, Substance and shadow: women and addiction in the United States, Pregnancy and drug use: the dangerous and unequal use of punitive measures, Fetal protection laws: moral panic and the new constitutional battlefront, Clinical, ethical, and legal considerations in pregnant women with opioid abuse, American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Substance Abuse, Council on Addiction Psychiatry, American Psychiatric Association, Position statement on the care of pregnant and newly delivered women addicts, ACOG Committee Opinion No 473. One of the authors read six cases in random order, abstracting data into the identified categories of variables to determine the applicability of the a priori coding scheme. Otherstudieshave found that babies exposed to cocaine in utero perform better on several developmental measures when left with their mothers than do those removed to foster care. Hence, health care providers should select relatively safe drugs. State law prohibits a medical provider from releasing information about a pregnant individuals drug or alcohol test without the patients consent. Studieshave found that babies exposed to cocaine in utero are not at greater risk of maltreatment as young children than similarly situated babies. You can also go to SAMHSAs Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator. More about smoking in pregnancy and drinking alcohol in pregnancy. In Johnson v. State, the defendant was charged and convicted of two counts of delivery of a controlled substance to a minor via the umbilical cord after she reported to the treating obstetrician that she had smoked marijuana and crack cocaine the day she went into labor. Not coincidentally, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, as Arizonas social safety net shrank, its foster care numbers soared. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. His girlfriend is also a meth addict. -- A Tennessee woman is the first to be charged under a new state law that specifically makes it a crime to take drugs while pregnant . To view abstracts of recent publications in PubMed, see Prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among pregnant and nonpregnant women of reproductive age and Marijuana use during and after pregnancy and association of prenatal use on birth outcomes: A population-based study. For more information, see What You Need to Know About Marijuana Use and Pregnancyand The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research (2017). If you or someone close to you needs help for a substance use disorder, talk to your healthcare provider or call SAMHSAs National Helpline at1-800-662-HELP. Kentucky similarly struggles with poverty, poor access to substance use treatment services, and a child protective system that spends more resources on placing children in foster care than keeping them with their families. Fetal or infant toxicology was reported in 24 of the pregnancies, and included positive findings for cocaine (n = 13), heroin (n = 1), and methamphetamine (n = 8) and one case wherein testing was negative for the relevant drug oxycodone, but the infant nonetheless displayed signs of withdrawal.31. Between 2002-2003 and 2016-2017, past-month cannabis use increased from 3.4% to 7.0% among pregnant women overall and from 5.7% to 12.1% during the first trimester. Additionally, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products containing nicotine (the addictive drug found in tobacco) are not safe to use during pregnancy. Anonymous screening of consecutive urine samples testing positive for pregnancy from a UK inner-city clinic demonstrated that approximately 16% of the women had taken one or more illicit substances (Sherwood et al, 1999). If youre using marijuana and are pregnant or are planning to become pregnant, talk to your healthcare provider. Such information can assist in making diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), as well as help clinicians focus the plan for treatment and follow-up for the neonates. 38]. 297 (N.C. 2015), Arrests of and forced interventions on pregnant women in the United States, 19732005: implications for women's legal status and public health, State v. McKnight, 352 S.C. 635, 647 (S.C. 2003), Ankrom v. State, 152 So.3d 397, 411 (Ala. 2013), Moral and social issues regarding pregnant women who use and abuse drugs, A gap in the criminal justice system, creating a new class of felons in pregnant drug-addicted women, a state-by-state analysis, Prosecution of illicit drug use during pregnancy: Crystal Ferguson v. City of Charleston, From the Office of the General Counsel. This helps clinicians better understand the prevalence of marijuana use as they care for their pregnant patients and provide screening and treatment. Only four states (North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Kentucky) require hospitals to test both new mothers and their children if medical professionals suspect drug use. Unfortunately, many women of childbearing age in the U.S. use some form of illegal drug. If you regularly use drugs, it's important to tackle this now you're pregnant. Exact terminology for relevant crimes varies across states and broad inclusion criteria were used for initial case review. Before losing contact with her lawyer, M. told me her story via email. Proceedings resulted in dismissal of the charges or convictions overturned for 86.2 percent of the women. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure youre on an official state website. Studies show when a pregnant woman uses illegal drugs during pregnancy it can result in miscarriage, low birth weight, premature labor, placental abruption, seizures, respiratory problems, feeding difficulties, and death of the baby and the mother. It is, however, not known how many women, if any, have been convicted at the trial court level and not had their case heard at the appellate level. The effects of illegal drugs, such as cocaine, can be devastating on a fetus. Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development Project | Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities For access to services and immediate crisis help, call the Georgia Crisis & Access Line (GCAL) at 1-800-715-4225, available 24/7. Arizonaslegislation, which became law in April, permits termination of a mothers parental rights, either immediately when her newborn is born or within one year of her newborns birth, depending on how chronic the illicit drug use appears to the court. At the present time, the Center for MSACD fulfills several roles in Georgia by sponsoring clinical, prevention, and research programs. Three of the key areas in which they can have an effect are 1) adhering to safe prescribing practices, 2) encouraging healthy behaviors by providing appropriate information and education, and 3) identifying and referring patients already abusing drugs to addiction treatment professionals 13. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties. Wisconsin provides priority access to pregnant people in both general and private programs. Despite progress in the criminal legal system, the drug war remains almost unchallenged in the child protection system, and it is wreaking havoc on families. A representative example is State v. Wade, where the court stated, The plain language of the child endangerment statute does not proscribe conduct harmful to fetuses.40 The courts typically made explicit that any ambiguity in the statutes must be construed liberally in favor of the criminal defendant. 2006), State v. Wade, 232 S.W.3d 663, 665 (Mo. Unless otherwise noted, you can republish our stories for free if you follow these rules. All of these cases were appellate decisions except for one published trial court decision,24 which we discuss separately, given that trial court decisions are not typically published and do not resolve matters of law. It often relies on caseworker-confirmed reports of child maltreatment, despite thewell-documentedpropensity of caseworkers and family courts to base findings of child neglect on evidence of drug use alone. The first case was adjudicated in 1977 and the last case in 2015. Charges included child endangerment, child abuse, drug delivery, attempted aggravated child abuse, chemical endangerment of a child, child neglect, child mistreatment, homicide, manslaughter, and reckless injury to a child.

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