Fifteen states have laws requiring health care workers to report to authorities if they suspect a woman is abusing drugs during pregnancy. Although pregnancy is an exciting time, there are stresses and risks that come with pregnancy and the postpartum period. Key takeaways: In some states in the U.S., healthcare providers are required by law to report substance use during pregnancy. More concerning, limited evidence suggests that punitive polices may deter women from prenatal care.49,,51 These policies also disproportionately affect minority and poor women.15,52 For example, in one study, black women who tested positive for substances at birth were reported to authorities at about 10 times the rate of white women, despite similar rates of substance use.47 Advocates of the punitive approach assert that drug courts can be used to compel treatment for pregnant women with substance use disorders. The groups listed below help people with drug abuse. Several methods of drug testing are efficacious in identifying and monitoring drug use during pregnancy. Medical and public health experts who are desirous of seeing a greater focus on treatment of substance-abusing pregnant women must stay particularly alert to legislative efforts to expand the legal definition of a child to include fetuses or to define prenatal substance use explicitly as a form of child abuse. 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. Opioid use disorder is a problematic pattern of opioid use that can result in health problems, disability, or failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school or home. More about medicines in pregnancy. Prosecutors have attempted to rely on a host of criminal laws already on the books to attack prenatal substance use. Drug use is an uncommon cause of birth defects, yet approximately 200,000 children (3-5% of live births) are born with birth defects each year. 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. 488. first criminal charges brought against a woman for using drugs during pregnancy came in 1977 against Margaret Reyes. Kansas and Nebraska have no reporting or testing requirements, the survey says. Criminal or civil penalties discourage women from seeking prenatal care they need for fear of having their drug use discovered, critics say. In Minnesota and North Dakota, a test is required if there are drug-related complications at birth. At issue is whether the continued drug use of a newborn's mother is tantamount to "child abuse" that would give child protective services workers and law enforcement officers the ability to remove the child from the mother's care - even if the . App. While a robust body of literature supports a causal connection between prenatal exposure to alcohol or tobacco (or lead or poverty for that matter) and negative postnatal health outcomes, thescientific literaturehas not conclusively demonstrated any long-term negative effect of prenatal exposure to opioids. The Center for MSACD also provides training, workshops, and other informational services concerning prenatal exposure to alcohol, nicotine, illicit drugs, and prescription drugs. App.3d 214 (Cal. Additionally, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products containing nicotine (the addictive drug found in tobacco) are not safe to use during pregnancy. If a woman is drinking alcohol during pregnancy, it is never too late to stop. Since 1973, authorities in at least 45 states have tried to prosecute women for exposing unborn children to drugs. Millions ofparentswho use drugs or have substance use disorders parent their children well. Convictions were upheld only in Alabama and South Carolina, involving a total of four women. "Georgia Supreme Court Orders C-Section Mother Nature Reverses on Appeal." . If you valued this article, please help us produce more journalism like this by making a contribution today. A representative example of this due process reasoning was expressed by the court in State v. Martinez: To expand the ordinary meaning of this statute would deny Defendant reasonable notice that her actions were criminal, thereby violating her due process rights.39 Six courts held that allowing the contested statute to apply to prenatal drug use would in effect permit it to be applied to a range of prenatal conduct not previously considered illegal, in effect opening the floodgates to prosecution of pregnant women. 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. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener in some food and drinks and small amounts may be safe during pregnancy. Substance use in pregnancy is an important issue in antenatal care. Further, some states, under the rubric of protecting the fetus, authorize civil commitment (such as forced admission to an inpatient treatment program) of pregnant people who use drugs; these policies sometimes also apply to alcohol use or other behaviors. Kentuckyslegislation, which also became law last month, permits termination of a mothers parental rights if her newborn exhibits signs of withdrawal, known as neonatal abstinence syndrome, as the result of illicit opioid use, unless the mother is in substantial compliance with both a drug treatment program and a regimen of postnatal care within 90 days of giving birth. The number of pregnant women with opioid use disorder at labor and delivery more than quadrupled from 1999 to 2014, according to a recent CDC analysis. 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. His girlfriend is also a meth addict. Using drugs while pregnant and addiction is a grave concern because it puts two lives at risk. Not coincidentally, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, as Arizonas social safety net shrank, its foster care numbers soared. Smoking during and after pregnancy also increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Theresearchis also clear that the results of a drug test alone are not an appropriate proxy for determining parental fitness. Neonatal exposure to some drugs during pregnancy can have harmful effects on development and may lead to acute adverse events, including neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and infant mortality. Daily/near daily cannabis use in the past month increased from 0.9% to 3.4% among pregnant women overall, and from 1.8% to 5.3% during the first trimester; from 0.6% to 2.5% during . App. First, they say the developing fetus and newborn will be harmed by prenatal exposure to illicit substances. The Wisconsin law is especially draconian: A woman can be detained against her will for the duration of her pregnancy, her fetus has its own court-appointed lawyer, she can lose custody of her baby after birth and the proceedings are mostly secret. She told her treating physician about her opioid use during pregnancy, not realizing this could precipitate call to Child Protective Services (CPS). Facts are largely determined at the trial level. At the present time, the Center for MSACD fulfills several roles in Georgia by sponsoring clinical, prevention, and research programs. For example, pregnant women should drink less than 1 liter (about 3 cans) of diet soda per day. Georgia Marijuana Statutes Also, some of the flavorings used in e-cigarettes may be harmful to a developing baby. Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, the average . The infant was born prematurely. Federal drug laws exist to control the use, manufacturing, possession, and distribution of various drugs that are legal and illegal. 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. We also identified judicial references to expert or fact witness medical testimony and to medical literature or medical or public health-related amicus briefs. Approximately 700 women in the United States die every year . Katie Jane Fernelius All types of alcohol are equally harmful, including all wines and beer. 31]. It found that parents face long wait lists when accessing substance use treatment services and often dont have the means to pay. No adverse neonatal outcomes were reported in 41 percent of the pregnancies in this study. Severalstudiesdocument that hospital staff disproportionately drug test and report to child protective services low-income women andwomen of color. In that way, this legislations attempt to punish mothers and fathers acts as a civil death penalty for families, for which children will pay the ultimate price.. LEXIS 496 (Tenn. Crim. Although briefs from medical or public health organizations supporting the defendants' position were submitted to the court in 29 percent of the cases (n = 7), only one majority ruling directly referenced a medical or public health organization amicus brief. She was charged with chemical endangerment of a child. Apr 20, 2022, M. Forrest Behne, Craig Waleed, Meghan Peterson, and Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. 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. 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. [I]t would be an anomaly, indeed, if the law were such that a pregnant woman who, by ingesting drugs, recklessly caused the death of a viable fetus would suffer no criminal liability for manslaughter but, if the child was born alive and did not die, could be imprisoned for five years for reckless endangerment [Ref. Laws on drug testing of infants and new mothers vary, but the stakes are always high. Through these efforts, the Center for MSACD continues to be a valuable resource to individuals, parents, and professionals in Georgia and the Southeast. As of 2018, 38 states had . 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. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. Nicotine is a health danger for pregnant women and developing babies and can damage a developing babys brain and lungs. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Thank you for your interest in recommending The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law site. Subscribe to our newsletters for regular updates, analysis and context straight to your email. 1991), People v. Hardy, 469 N.W.2d50 (Mich. Ct. App. Cases wherein charges resulted in civil proceedings only (e.g., custody proceedings) were not included. 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. The Tips campaign features information about how smoking and secondhand smoking affect specific groups, including pregnant women or women planning to have a baby. Marijuana use during and after pregnancy and association of prenatal use on birth outcomes: A population-based study. 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. 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. Establishes requirements for health care providers to encourage and facilitate drug counseling. The following information can help you understand [] Unless otherwise noted, you can republish our stories for free if you follow these rules. This helps clinicians better understand the prevalence of marijuana use as they care for their pregnant patients and provide screening and treatment. Substance use providers that accept Medicaid must give pregnant people priority in accessing services. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health (19752020), Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health (19692020). It is part of the non-profit Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS), a national information network. Prenatal drug exposure may also contribute to long-term behavioral effects and developmental deficits. Otherwise, the law on drug testing newborns varies from state to state. The substances being abused during pregnancy can include alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and opioid addiction. This isaccomplished through a statewide OBHP contract withEmory University. My distant cousin is a meth addict. In 2014, Tennessee made national news when it became the first state in the country to pass a law specifically making it a crime to use drugs while pregnant. Three of the nine mothers arrested that year tested positive for marijuana, and all were held on $100,000 bonds. If you regularly use drugs, it's important to tackle this now you're pregnant. 2006), State v. Wade, 232 S.W.3d 663, 665 (Mo. While the findings varied dependent upon county, across the board, only 18 received any kind of rehab/treatment for drug abuse as . Collaborations have included media messages on maternal substance abuse during pregnancy and supplying resources addressing the use of any substance. 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. This claim also disregards the seriousgapsin access to treatment for substance use disorders, especially for poor people, and the absence of a social safety net to even support struggling families in the first place. Quitting early or before pregnancy is best, but its never too late to quit smoking. A newborn infant's death nearly 15 years ago is still causing a fierce legislative battle in Arizona and other states around the country. The court held that the legislature did not intend for the relevant statute to apply to conduct during pregnancy that affected fetuses. Second, they claim that drug use during pregnancy is a reliable indicator of parental unfitness. 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. You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link. State law prohibits a medical provider from releasing information about a pregnant individuals drug or alcohol test without the patients consent. Fetal Assault Laws. Such inhumane responses to drug use can only exist because they are almost exclusively reserved for poor people and people of color. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. Women might use opioids as prescribed, misuse prescription opioids, use illicit opioids such as heroin, or use opioids (opioid agonists and/or antagonists) as treatment for opioid use disorder. The state argued that the drug delivery occurred via the umbilical cord in the period after birth but before the cord was clamped. The city of Savannah decriminalized the possession of marijuana, effective July 1, 2018. A number of states require health care professionals to report or test for prenatal drug exposure, which can be used as evidence in child-welfare proceedings.