drug use during pregnancy laws in georgia drug use during pregnancy laws in georgia

It is part of the non-profit Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS), a national information network. Trainings on maternal substance abuse, child development, alcohol and other drug related effects are conducted for prevention providers. Despite progress in the criminal legal system, the drug war remains almost unchallenged in the child protection system, and it is wreaking havoc on families. Webster v. Reproductive Health services: the AMA position, Prosecuting pregnant women for drug use during pregnancy: the criminal justice system should step out and the affordable care act should step up, People v. Morabito, 580 N.Y.S.2d 843 (N.Y. City Ct. 1992), Reyes v. Superior Court, 75 Cal. DRH presents state and national estimates of marijuana use among pregnant women. Federal Drug Laws. Some policymakers and law enforcement officials argue that criminal punishment deters substance use among pregnant women.1,,3 In contrast, the medical model of addiction views substance use disorders as chronic, relapsing diseases, with substance abuse during pregnancy an unfortunate, but common occurrence. Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. And in order to receive federal child abuse prevention funds, states must require health care providers to notify child protective services when the provider cares for an infant affected by illegal substance use. Both stand to undermine the medical treatment of pregnant women with substance use disorders and potentially increase harm to mothers and children. Additionally, in three states, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, women who use drugs during pregnancy can be involuntarily committed to a treatment program. With the U.S. Supreme Court considering a high-profile case involving the prosecution of pregnant substance abusers, policymakers and advocates once again are confronted with the decade-old question of how best to deal with pregnant women who use drugs. At least two states, Arizona and Kentucky, have just made it easier to terminate the rights of mothers who use controlled substances while pregnant. Opioids are a class of drugs used to manage pain, but also have serious risks, such as addiction. To learn about CDC activities to prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, visit About Us from the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Urine screening remains the most commonly used method despite the limited period during which drugs can be detected. The Maternal Substance Abuse and ChildDevelopment (MSACD) Project focuses on theprevention of negative consequences of a maternalsubstance use through a variety of services. 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. In Alabama and South Carolina, high courts have interpreted existing child endangerment and chemical endangerment statutes to allow prosecution of drug-using pregnant women and new mothers. Despite a lack of criminal statutes specifically targeting substance use by pregnant women in other states, women have been charged and, infrequently, convicted of a range of criminal offenses for illicit substance use while pregnant, including child abuse, assault, manslaughter, and murder.15 In two states, South Carolina and Alabama, these convictions have been upheld by the state supreme court.16,,18 The effect of these rulings is to permit women to be convicted for substance use during pregnancy under existing laws that are not specific to pregnancy. Prosecuting Women for Drug Use During Pregnancy: The Criminal Justice System Should Step Out and the Affordable Care Act Should Step Up. 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. These 24 cases included 29 women in 19 states who were prosecuted for criminal charges related to harm to a fetus or child as a result of substance use during pregnancy. Learn about the Division of Reproductive Healths efforts to address opioid use disorder to improve maternal and infant health. Across the country, hundreds of pregnant women and new mothers have been accused of child abuse or other crimes when they or their newborns tested positive for controlled substances. Disclosures of financial or other potential conflicts of interest: None. 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? Unfortunately, many women of childbearing age in the U.S. use some form of illegal drug. Consistent with guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, CDC advises against using marijuana during pregnancy. Exact terminology for relevant crimes varies across states and broad inclusion criteria were used for initial case review. Wisconsin provides priority access to pregnant people in both general and private programs. The child was placed with CPS and now is in the custody of the great grandmother. 1992), Johnson v. State, 602 So.2d 1288 (Fla. 1992), State v. Gray, 584 N.E.2d 710 (Ohio 1992), Commonwealth v. Welch, 864 S.W.2d 280, 283 (Ky. 1993), Sheriff, Washoe County, Nevada v. Encoe, 885 P.2d 596 (Nev. 1994), Collins v. State, 890 S.W.2d 893 (Tex. Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address. Cocaine lingers in a fetus much longer than an adult and often 5-7 days after birth. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. Meanwhile, private insurance companies have found ways to circumvent Obamacare requirements on MAT coverage. She was charged with chemical endangerment of a child. An official website of the State of Georgia. An obvious example is the recent Tennessee law that explicitly made illicit drug use during pregnancy a form of criminal assault. Quitting tobacco can be hard, but it is possible. Although pregnancy is an exciting time, there are stresses and risks that come with pregnancy and the postpartum period. To view abstracts of recent publications in PubMed, see Prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among pregnant and nonpregnant women of reproductive age and Marijuana use during and after pregnancy and association of prenatal use on birth outcomes: A population-based study. For example, Amanda Kimbrough's child was born prematurely and died shortly after birth, having tested positive for methamphetamine. 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. 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. All of these cases were appellate decisions except for one published trial court decision,24 which we discuss separately, given that trial court decisions are not typically published and do not resolve matters of law. Maternal deaths in the United States are increasing. A substantial body of legal literature traces the development of case law related to substance use during pregnancy and problems with criminalization of pregnant women.15,19,,23 In this article, we systematically review published legal cases of women charged with offenses causing harm to their fetus or child as a result of substance use during pregnancy, wherein the trial court decision was appealed. Studieshave found that babies exposed to cocaine in utero are not at greater risk of maltreatment as young children than similarly situated babies. Criminalization has taken many forms including, but not limited to, the passage of fetal assault laws, policies that punish or penalize pregnant people for substance use during pregnancy, and the practice of judicial intervention or legal attempts at coercion for refusal of care during pregnancy. 297 (N.C. 2015), Arrests of and forced interventions on pregnant women in the United States, 19732005: implications for women's legal status and public health, State v. McKnight, 352 S.C. 635, 647 (S.C. 2003), Ankrom v. State, 152 So.3d 397, 411 (Ala. 2013), Moral and social issues regarding pregnant women who use and abuse drugs, A gap in the criminal justice system, creating a new class of felons in pregnant drug-addicted women, a state-by-state analysis, Prosecution of illicit drug use during pregnancy: Crystal Ferguson v. City of Charleston, From the Office of the General Counsel. LEXIS 496 (Tenn. Crim. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. It found that parents face long wait lists when accessing substance use treatment services and often dont have the means to pay. Many states recognize this as an act of child abuse on the unborn fetus . App. Pregnancy. 1995), State v. Dunn, 916 P.2d 952 (Wash. Ct. App. Georgia drug possession laws treat the crime very seriously and a conviction for possession of even a small amount of an illegal drug can subject you to serious penalties. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. The legislators behind these laws are essentially creating a capital offense for women who give birth despite having used an illegal drug, said Erin Miles Cloud, a senior attorney at the Bronx Defenders Family Defense Practice, who has represented numerous parents facing termination of parental rights proceedings. Ct. App. Babies exposed to cocaine in the womb have a 25 percent increased chance of being born premature. To learn more about medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and considerations in pregnancy, visit https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment. Cases of Women Charged With Child Abuse-Related Crimes for Substance Use During Pregnancy The substances related to the charges were cocaine ( n = 15), methamphetamine ( n = 10), heroin ( n = 2), marijuana ( n = 1), oxycodone ( n = 1), and unspecified prescription pills ( n = 1). And the scientific literature that suggests that substance use produces social cognitive deficits in parenting is in its infancy and rather underwhelming. Additional factors were relevant to the stated judicial rationale in at least some of the cases. Arizonaslegislation, which became law in April, permits termination of a mothers parental rights, either immediately when her newborn is born or within one year of her newborns birth, depending on how chronic the illicit drug use appears to the court. Prescription Opioid Pain Reliever Use During Pregnancy, The US Opioid Crisis & Maternal Infant Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. LEXIS 970 (Tenn. Crim. This claim disregards the fact that drug addiction is ahealth issuewith biological, behavioral, and genetic dimensions, and similar to other health conditions, itdoes not respond wellto artificially imposed treatment timelines or mandated treatment. The Supreme Courts in Alabama and South Carolina have upheld convictions ruling that an individuals substance use in pregnancy constitutes criminal child abuse. Collaborations have included media messages on maternal substance abuse during pregnancy and supplying resources addressing the use of any substance. NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. 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. Call 1-800-GEORGIA to verify that a website is an official website of the State of Georgia. Nicotine is a health danger for pregnant women and developing babies and can damage a developing babys brain and lungs. Despite the opposition of medical and public health professionals, several state legislatures are considering laws that permit child abuse charges for substance use during pregnancy. We also identified judicial references to expert or fact witness medical testimony and to medical literature or medical or public health-related amicus briefs. To date, the United States Supreme Court has declined to hear cases that raise questions about the constitutionality of such laws. 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. Heroin is an illicit opioid. Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, the average . 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. Priority applies to pregnant people referred for treatment. Severalstudiesdocument that hospital staff disproportionately drug test and report to child protective services low-income women andwomen of color. Substance use providers that accept Medicaid must give pregnant people priority in accessing services. 2007), State v. Hudson, 2007 Tenn. Crim. Here is a survey of state laws. Georgia regulates the possession of both illegal and prescription drugs. CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. Drug Use by State: Problem Areas. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. This evolution over time may reflect contemporaneous moral panic linked to the potential deleterious effects of particular substances on fetal outcomes.1. Significantly higher numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control, which in 2019 reported that some 16% of pregnant women . In other instances, where medical expertise was referenced, it did not necessarily support the defendants' position. Using illegal drugs while pregnant can cause many complications to the baby including brain damage, premature birth, low birth weight and even fetal death. Thank you for your interest in recommending The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law site. 1. When she visited him, she was distressed to find he often had seemingly untreated rashes. (3) 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. One local news source investigated Poolaw's case in conjunction with 45 other pregnant women across the state charged with felony child abuse, neglect, or manslaughter in relation with substance use since 2017. 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. Cases of Women Charged With Child AbuseRelated Crimes for Substance Use During Pregnancy, The substances related to the charges were cocaine (n = 15), methamphetamine (n = 10), heroin (n = 2), marijuana (n = 1), oxycodone (n = 1), and unspecified prescription pills (n = 1). Prescribed medicines. State laws now vary considerably in their approach to the problem, reflecting a deep division in public opinion. His girlfriend is also a meth addict. The Center houses the Emory Neurodevelopmental Exposures Clinic (ENEC), a multidisciplinary clinic dedicated to providing evaluation and intervention services to individuals exposed to substances in pregnancy. Source: ProPublica research by Leticia Miranda and Christine Lee; Guttmacher Institute; National Advocates for Pregnant Women. Not coincidentally, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, as Arizonas social safety net shrank, its foster care numbers soared. Civil child abuse proceedings are explicitly permitted in 18 states.9 These may lead to termination of parental rights, but not to prison sentences. State laws vary, but at least 23 states and the District of Columbia articulate that substance use during pregnancy is child abuse, and virtually every state in the U.S. will open an investigation (at the very least) into a person who tests positive for substances during or shortly after pregnancy. The report pays particular attention to the impact of the 'chemical endangerment' law in Alabama, the state that has carried out the most prosecutions against pregnant women; and Tennessee's 'fetal assault' law, which between 2014 and 2016 made it a crime to give birth to a child showing symptoms of drug exposure. Federal drug laws exist to control the use, manufacturing, possession, and distribution of various drugs that are legal and illegal. Support ProPublica's award-winning investigative journalism. 488. first criminal charges brought against a woman for using drugs during pregnancy came in 1977 against Margaret Reyes. Most states do not have a law that requires hospitals to test infants and new moms for controlled substances. 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. Cocaine (including crack cocaine) and methamphetamine (speed, or ice) are powerful stimulants that effect the central nervous system. App.3d 214 (Cal. Quitting smoking is one of the most important ways you can protect your health and the health of your baby. 1994), Reinesto v. Superior Court, 894 P.2d 733 (Ariz. Ct. App. A representative example is State v. Wade, where the court stated, The plain language of the child endangerment statute does not proscribe conduct harmful to fetuses.40 The courts typically made explicit that any ambiguity in the statutes must be construed liberally in favor of the criminal defendant. 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. 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. While the findings varied dependent upon county, across the board, only 18 received any kind of rehab/treatment for drug abuse as . About half of the states treat drug use during. 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. Such laws may discourage people from seeking prenatal care. We reviewed legal decisions regarding women charged with a crime against a fetus or child as a result of substance use during pregnancy. 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. If you regularly use drugs, it's important to tackle this now you're pregnant. Using drugs while pregnant and addiction is a grave concern because it puts two lives at risk. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), conducted annually by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), provides nationally representative data on the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs; substance use disorders; receipt of substance use treatment; mental health issues; and the use of mental health Using these drugs during pregnancy may affect your baby's growth and puts you at higher risk of miscarriage, early labour, and placental abruption, where the placenta comes away from the wall of the womb . We identified 24 judicial opinions published between 1977 and 2015 in cases involving 29 women prosecuted in 19 states. The pregnancies had the following outcome: no adverse effects of the substance reported (n = 12), withdrawal symptoms (n = 7), prematurity and/or small size at birth (n = 5), death in the neonatal period (n = 3), and stillbirth (n = 2). Opioid use during pregnancy can affect women and their babies. This helps clinicians better understand the prevalence of marijuana use as they care for their pregnant patients and provide screening and treatment. A newborn infant's death nearly 15 years ago is still causing a fierce legislative battle in Arizona and other states around the country. An official website of the State of Georgia. The substances related to the charges included cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, and prescription pills. 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. As of 2018, 38 states had . We examined only published cases, almost all of which were appellate level decisions. Similarly, in Ankrom v. State, the state supreme court found that the plain meaning of the word child is broad enough to encompass all childrenborn and unborn.18 When fetuses are included in the definition of child, the child abuse statutes are then found to be applicable to the alleged prenatal conduct. Tennessee is the only state that has enacted a law that targets substance use by pregnant women on the basis of presumed harm to the fetus or child. Support a worker-led Appeal. donate today. The use of illicit substances such as cocaine and heroin during pregnancy is common. 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. Fifteen states have laws requiring health care workers to report to authorities if they suspect a woman is abusing drugs 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. Millions ofparentswho use drugs or have substance use disorders parent their children well. Finally, a number of states have placed a priority on making drug treatment more readily available to pregnant individuals, which is bolstered by federal funds that require prioritized access to treatment programs for anyone who is pregnant. 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.