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Pregnant Mothers Who Use Drugs During Pregnancy: Should They Be Prosecuted?

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Pregnant Mothers Who Use Drugs During Pregnancy: Should They Be Prosecuted?
English Composition I
June 3, 2012

What are the long-term effects on children who were drug exposed in utero? Are criminal charges for child abuse the best solution for pregnant mothers who use illicit drugs during pregnancy? This is a question that has become a hot topic and cause for controversy among the medical community, legal community, and society in general over the last 20 years. For example, South Carolina has defended their actions in the criminal convictions of women charged with child abuse for using drugs, such as crack cocaine, during pregnancy, while states like Wisconsin and South Dakota have taken less drastic measures. Almost all states agree that some sort of action needs to be taken to protect unborn children, but what those actions should be are widely varied and debated. Although personal feelings and emotions often lead us to immediately draw one conclusion; thorough research and doing what is best for women, children and their families are a strong argument for looking at other alternatives to this problem.

South Carolina has long been at the forefront of the movement to criminalize prenatal substance abuse, using a broad range of laws to enforce a policy that began at one or two hospitals in the state and, over time, has expanded to a statewide initiative [Contemporary Women’s Issues] 1998. However, states such as Wisconsin are wrestling with when the criminal code comes into play. Currently, only South Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky have laws on the books that allow them to charge pregnant women who abuse drugs while pregnant. While many believe that social services would be a better utilization to help expectant mothers and their unborn children. The bigger question is; how will each state define “drug-use?” Will they include only illicit,

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