Drug Abuse in Pregnancy

Paper Summary:

This paper examines various fetal rights instruments, proposed laws that are supposed to protect unborn children by criminalizing mothers who abuse alcohol and drugs. The first part looks at examples of such legislation and the arguments of the proponents. In the second part, this paper argues that while such efforts have noble intents, these fetal rights laws are misguided and counterproductive. Based on these weaknesses, this paper concludes that the state must not prosecute pregnant women who engage in substance abuse.

Outline:
Prenatal Protection
Fatal Flaws
Conclusion
References

From the Paper:

"Cruz's case is far from new. In the late 1980s, the heyday of concern for the rights of fetuses, the Medical University of South Carolina began to screen pregnant patients with for cocaine use. Women who tested positive were then turned over to the police. In these cases, the threat of prosecution convinced many pregnant women to seek treatment for their substance addiction (Jonsson 2001).
These examples embody many of the arguments that mothers who take drugs during their pregnancy should be treated as criminals. First, there are legal precedents for doing so. South Carolina, for example, has a history of recognizing a viable fetus as a living person (Jonsson 2001)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Daniels, Cynthia. 2000. "Doctors Should Not Police Pregnant Women's Actions." San Francisco Chronicle. November 15
• Gearan, Anne. 2003. Case cour declines to hear has abortion implications. St. Louis Post - Dispatch. October 7.
• Mehren, Elizabeth. 2000. "Court says proper health care supersedes woman's religion." Seattle Times. September 13.
• Jonsson, Patrik. 2001. "South Carolina goes after pregnant drug users." Chicago Sun - Times. July 2.
• Veer, S and L. Johnson-Arnold. 2005. "Act could target any pregnant woman." Herald. May 4.

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