State Policies on Substance Use During Pregnancy. State Responses to Substance Abuse Among Pregnant Women No adverse neonatal outcomes were reported in 41 percent of the pregnancies in this study. 1996), State v. Aiwohi, 123 P.3d 1210 (Haw. Tennessee To Decide If It Will Keep Criminalizing Pregnant Women For The Center for MSACD also provides training, workshops, and other informational services concerning prenatal exposure to alcohol, nicotine, illicit drugs, and prescription drugs. Drug Use During Pregnancy: Dangers of Addiction In other words, the key concern in the judicial decisions to date has turned on the courts' interpretation of legislative intent. Drug addiction is a serious problem, especially when the drug addict is pregnant. 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. The use of illicit substances such as cocaine and heroin during pregnancy is common. It found that parents face long wait lists when accessing substance use treatment services and often dont have the means to pay. Second, they claim that drug use during pregnancy is a reliable indicator of parental unfitness. Substance use providers that accept Medicaid must give pregnant people priority in accessing services. A November study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association tracked the rise of laws that criminalized taking drugs while pregnant, as well as classifying drug use during pregnancy as child abuse that could result in loss of custody rights or as grounds for a civil commitment. Ct. App. 19 states have 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. Drug abuse has a long and storied history in the United States, and we've been "at war" with it since 1971 under the Nixon administration. So the very condition that Kentucky believes should trigger fast-tracked termination of parental rights is in fact often most effectively treated by close, consistent contact between the mother and newborn. Study finds increased cannabis use during pregnancy As her due date approached, M. found a hospital that claimed to specialize in the care of babies who were exposed to opioids in utero and traveled a far distance to give birth there. Hence, health care providers should select relatively safe drugs. Twelve opinions noted that other jurisdictions ruled similarly when faced with such cases. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Workup: Approach Considerations - Medscape Psychiatrists should be involved with drug treatment courts to ensure that any court-compelled treatment meets the complex medical and psychosocial needs of pregnant women with substance use disorders. State legislators, law enforcement officials, and physicians have struggled to reach consensus on how to identify, treat, and possibly punish women who abuse illegal substances during pregnancy. The overwhelming majority of parents prosecuted by the child welfare system are poor, and parents ofcolorare overrepresented. A mother taking illegal drugs during pregnancy increases her risk for anemia, blood and heart infections, skin infections, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases. The discourse about criminalization of substance use in pregnancy suggests that women are at serious risk of successful prosecution for illicit drug use during pregnancy.8,15 Based on our review of published judicial decisions, this does not appear to be the case in most jurisdictions. My distant cousin is a meth addict. While some papers estimate that 1-3% of birth defects are thought to be caused by medications taken during pregnancy, the authors could not find a source for this statement that was based on study d. Women charged with or convicted of crimes against their child or fetus related to substance use during pregnancy have won on appeal much more often than they have lost. As is true across the nation, rural areas have limited, if any, access to MAT. As of last year, they were still apart, and M. has since lost touch with her lawyer. Such laws may discourage people from seeking prenatal care. The South Carolina Supreme Court held that a viable fetus is a "person" under the state's criminal child-endangerment statute and that "maternal acts endangering or likely to endanger the life, comfort, or health of a viable fetus" constitute criminal child abuse. Convictions were upheld only in Alabama and South Carolina, involving a total of four women. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. " Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, 5.4 percent were current illicit drug users based on data averaged across 2012 and 2013. Cocaine (including crack cocaine) and methamphetamine (speed, or ice) are powerful stimulants that effect the central nervous system. Rapidly detecting fetal exposure to licit and illicit drugs is of considerable medical value. Pregnant Mothers and Drugs - Should they be charged? Aspartame. Those unable to pay may perform community service instead. 24 states and the District of Columbia consider substance use during pregnancy to be child abuse under civil child-welfare statutes, and 3 consider it grounds for civil commitment. These may include the medical model of substance use disorders,4 racial disparities in substance use screening and reporting in pregnancy,47 and the difficulty of attributing a particular birth outcome to a single cause.48, Criminalization of pregnant women for substance abuse is fraught with problems related to conceptual and practical implementation, even if in theory one believes that substance use in pregnancy is both a moral dilemma and a medical problem. Kansas and Nebraska have no reporting or testing requirements, the survey says. For example, onestudyfound that parents who use opiates find babies less cutewhile conceivably notable, this finding does not meet the legal standard for terminating a parents rights. 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. If you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant and cannot stop drinking, get help. Indeed, few, if any, middle- or upper-class women who use drugs during pregnancy will ever experience a child abuse and neglect proceeding, let alone a termination of parental rightsthough drug use is common among people of all socioeconomic levels. CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. Medical and public health authoritieswarn that women who fear losing their babies upon seeking medical care will bedeterredfrom seeking the care they need. Two States Just Made It Easier to Take Babies Away From Mothers Who Use Using illegal drugs while pregnant can cause many complications to the baby including brain damage, premature birth, low birth weight and even fetal death. How some hospitals are drug testing new mothers without consent, How Alabamas meth lab law is unfairly punishing pregnant women, Mothers: tell us about drug testing at your hospital. State law prohibits a medical provider from releasing information about a pregnant individuals drug or alcohol test without the patients consent. Kentucky includes drug use during pregnancy as child abuse | Lexington Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address. The search yielded 77 published cases, of which, on closer review, 16 were found to be relevant. Substance Use During Pregnancy | Guttmacher Institute In totality, medical expertise seemed to play relatively little role in determining the outcome of most judicial decisions. Applying CDCs Guideline for Prescribing Opioids: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee Opinion: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. It's best not to stop abruptly without first seeking medical advice as there may be . We also were unable to determine the race or economic status of the defendants and do not know if poor or minority women are overrepresented among the defendants. 25states and the District of Columbia require health care professionals to report suspected prenatal drug use, and 8states require them to test for prenatal drug exposure if they suspect drug use. In Minnesota and North Dakota, a test is required if there are drug-related complications at birth. Reyes was charged with two counts of felony child endangerment for her heroin use Illegal or recreational drugs and pregnancy | Tommy's Many States Prosecute Pregnant Women for Drug Use. New Research - VUMC Only two courts found for the defendant, in part on the grounds that there was no medical evidence to support the charge. Experts recognize that pregnancy and childbirth present an especially opportune moment to connect a woman with services, including substance use disorder treatmentyet threats of punishment onlyisolatepregnant women. Employment Laws and Rules | Georgia Department of Labor Good reproductive health policy starts with credible research. From 2009 to 2017, the adjusted prevalence of cannabis use in the year before pregnancy increased from 6.8% to 12.5%, and the adjusted prevalence of cannabis use during pregnancy increased from 1.95% to 3.38 percent. They have 1 child together that was born prematurely due to her drug use. Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, even as some states have legalized it for recreational and medicinal use. Marijuana & Pregnancy: Top Studies | CannaMD Policies That Punish Pregnant Women for Substance Use Don't Help - RAND Heavy use of marijuana - that is, marijuana with high amounts of THC - has been linked to decreased fertility in both men and women. 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). Long-term effects of alcohol include: The baby being born with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) having symptoms, such as: Physical and facial abnormalities Learning disabilities, such as not being able to concentrate. Dr. Appelbaum is Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, and Law, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, and Director, Division of Law, Ethics, and Psychiatry, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and NY State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY. The other opinion33 that directly referenced medical literature did so to demonstrate the range of behaviors that are not legally proscribed (e.g., smoking, failing to obtain prenatal care) that are associated with poor neonatal outcomes. More about smoking in pregnancy and drinking alcohol in pregnancy. Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. Lets Be Clear GA - MARIJUANA AND PREGNANCY donate today. Critics argue law will deter women from seeking treatment. Because drug use during pregnancy can potentially harm a fetus, federal law requires state CPS agencies maintain a protocol for when babies are born with drugs in their system or showing drug withdrawals. In 2005, the Tennessee Court of Appeals overturned convictions based on guilty pleas for aggravated child abuse for methamphetamine use during pregnancy in two cases combined as Richards v. State.37 The judicial reasoning was that the women received ineffective assistance of counsel, in that their attorneys should have argued that their conduct fell outside the scope of the law, which at that time was intended to apply only to conduct that affected children, not fetuses. In three of the cases in which medical expert testimony was referenced, the expert testimony was contradictory. 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. Laws on drug testing of infants and new mothers vary, but the stakes are always high. This is a sad situation. In the three judicial opinions that upheld convictions, the court determined that the legislature intended to include fetuses in the definition of child for the purposes of the relevant statute. Illegal Drug Use and Pregnancy - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Millions ofparentswho use drugs or have substance use disorders parent their children well. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding, The Truth About Marijuana and the Criminal Legal System, Florida Cops Nearly Sent a Five-Year-Old to Jail, When It Comes to Reporting Deaths of Incarcerated People, Most States Break the Law, M. Forrest Behne, Craig Waleed, Meghan Peterson, and Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, Gay And Trans Panic Is Still Being Used To Justify Anti-LGBTQ Attacks. On June 13, 1997, the governor of Tennessee signed House Bill 1413, making it a Class A misdemeanor for child abuse where: (1) a woman consumes alcohol or illegal drugs during pregnancy with knowledge or the reason to know that such consumption may result in harm to her child; and (2) the child is born addicted to alcohol or drugs. What if a pregnant woman drives over the speed limit, or as a matter of vanity doesn't wear the prescription lenses she knows she needs to see the dangers of the road? There is no known safe amount of alcohol use during pregnancy or while trying to get pregnant. 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. Trainings on maternal substance abuse, child development, alcohol and other drug related effects are conducted for prevention providers. Further research is needed to better understand how marijuana may affect pregnant women and developing babies. Moreover, there is a great deal of overlap between drug use during pregnancy policies and alcohol/pregnancy policies. Drug Use During Pregnancy Laws, Effects and Testing Quitting tobacco can be hard, but it is possible. Video Transcribed: Life imprisonment for using drugs while pregnant.I'm Tulsa criminal defense attorney James Wirth, and we're talking about a new law in Oklahoma.And that became effective in September of 2020, and it essentially provides that mothers to be who use drugs or CDS, while pregnant, can be prosecuted for child neglect, receiving up to life imprisonment. Such policies are rooted in stigma and gross indifference to what the best available science tells us about how to compassionately and effectively serve pregnant women struggling with drug use disorders and their families. Substance abuse reporting and pregnancy: the role of the obstetriciangynecologist, Board of Trustees, American Medical Association, Legal interventions during pregnancy: court-ordered medical treatments and legal penalties for potentially harmful behavior by pregnant women, Tennessee voices: drug use in pregnancy is an epidemic, Prenatal Drug Use/Criminal Offense S.B. 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. "Among newborns exposed to opioids in utero, between 55 percent and 94 percent develop withdrawal signsand 30 to 80 . The legal consequences of using drugs while pregnant