Pregnant and high, 37-year-old Sandria Doremus entered a treatment facility in Greenville, SC, with the hopes that she could get off drugs and properly care for her baby. Her other motivation? She wanted to avoid being incarcerated after she gave birth.
It could easily have happened to her. A hospital reported her drug use to the police — as required by law.
Although this practice has abated, since 1989, at least 126 women in South Carolina have been arrested and charged with harming their fetuses by abusing drug and alcohol, according to the National Advocates For Pregnant Women. Only about 80 pregnant women around the country were arrested on similar charges in the same time period. Although local and state agencies across the country have attempted to prosecute pregnant women for drug use, their cases are usually rejected by the courts.
Although many women say that they're glad they had a chance to clean up and be sober mothers, some women admit that their fear of being arrested kept them from getting treatment earlier.
"These are addicts who become pregnant," says Lynn Paltrow, executive director of the National Advocates For Pregnant Women. "They aren't women who chose to use drugs after becoming pregnant."
What do you think about criminalizing addicted women who get pregnant?
Gucci
What a tough subject!
I'm all for decriminalizing our "war on drugs" because I don't think it works. But, in this case, I do agree with it. You're fraking up your baby's health, and there must be consequences. There have been many studies showing that rehab works when coercing people to avoid jail time.
The sad truth is that 90 percent of people that go to rehab go back to it within 5 years. But, this policy at least will allow the baby to have a greater chance at not having health problems.
1^^
I agree, this is a tough subject and I'm split on this. It's hard to break away from an addiction, especially from the hard stuff. And though finding out that you're pregnant may seem like enough motivation to break the addiction, it obviously doesn't always work that way. I hate to say it, but I think criminalizing addicted pregnant women is a good idea. I mean, forget about the mother, what about the baby inside of her? The baby would have a slim chance if the mother continues with the addiction.
However, I always think of addiction as an illness. The law would be more effective if it required pregnant women who cannot control their addiction to stay in rehabilitation for the full duration of their pregnancy.
2I think its a great idea to criminalize addicted pregnant women. I do see addiction as an illness, but just because a person has an illness, it does not give them an excuse to hurt another human being.
3These babies are affected for their entire lives.
4they must turn her in, for the babies sake. That way they can monitor the mother for drug use, monitor the babies health, and if the child is born addicted, make sure it gets the proper care.
5So a woman that chooses to have an abortion is considered a "murderer" by some, but then these drug addicts and alcoholics who are knowingly damaging the child inside of them are not? Women like this shouldn't even have children to begin with. They should be forced into a rehab facility for the entire duration of their pregnancy and then put on probation after the fact. People need to be held accountable for their actions. Illness or not, it's no excuse. You got yourself pregnant, you need to be responsible for the child.
6THis is ridiculous. If you support abortion there is absolutely no reason why you should want to see pregnant woman locked up. Before the baby is born the only person whose rights matter is the mother. It sucks and its hard to admit but it is her body, her choice to use drugs simple as that.
7Umm, Anonymous--drugs are illegal anyway. That baby didn't ask to be created, but now it gets to suffer because its mother got herself hooked on illegal, harmful substances? Uh-uh. Put her in jail. Get her off drugs, and then potentially look into taking her child away from her when/if it's born.
8"Umm, Anonymous--drugs are illegal anyway."
What about alcohol?
9Actually doctors tell us that one glass of wine a day is not harmful to babies in the womb. Whatever happened to accountability I'll never know--if you know that whatever substance/activity you are doing is dangerously harmful to your unborn baby and you do it anyway...you don't deserve to be a mother.
10For one, most doctors do not recommend drinking any alcohol during pregnancy. Regardless, what about a woman who drinks EXCESSIVELY during her pregnancy?
11I'm really surprised to see the majority of posters come down against the side of maternal rights in this case. Do you really think that incarcerating women who are seeking medical care will cause an overall improvement in their childrens' health, rather than deter women who are addicted from seeing their doctor if they become pregnant? Furthermore, the slippery slope from here is appalling. Not eating right during pregnancy can lead to low birth weight and potential problems for a child, so should pregnant women be incarcerated and force-fed vegetables?
12I agree that it is important to take the unborn child's health into account. This is a different issue than abortion; this child is going to be born and drug use by the mother may negatively effect their health (physical and mental) for their entire life. It's not an issue of whether or not they live but how they live. Because of this the soon to be born child's rights should be as important as the mother's rights.
13Criminalization though is not the answer. It is dangerous to have a pregnant mother incarcerated. Jail is not a good atmosphere for a pregnant woman, and there have been cases where babies are born in jail without proper medical attention, leading to fatal infections for the baby.
A better solution would be to force pregnant drug addicts into treatment for the duration of their pregnancy and perhaps even until the child is weened off their mother's milk, since drugs can be transferred through breast milk as well.
does anyone have any comments on how they feel about the infringement on the mother's freedom if forced into treatment?
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