Fetal Abuse
A growing number of women are being criminally prosecuted or having their children taken from them for doing drugs while pregnant. After years of hibernation, the legal concept of 'fetal rights' is apparently making a comeback -- to the alarm of women's rights advocates and health-care professionals.
Wed Jun. 14, 2000 12:00 AM PDT
Sally DeJesus knew right away she'd made a mistake.
After years of heavy cocaine use, she had been clean and sober for 11 months, and pregnant for nine, when she ran into one of her old crack dealers in a convenience store near Flat Rock, N.C. She was feeling lousy. Anxious to keep her system clean while her baby was growing inside her, the 28-year-old mother of two had months ago quit taking her anti-depressant medications; partly as a result, she says, she had been terribly depressed. "I'd hide in the bedroom crying," she says. "I wouldn't eat. I didn't shower for weeks at a time." To make matters worse, she and her husband had gotten into a bitter fight that morning.
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So when the dealer offered to take her for a ride and get her high, DeJesus said yes.
"As soon as I did the first hit, I knew I'd screwed up," she says. "But when you're an addict, sometimes your judgment just goes right out the window."
The next day, DeJesus confessed to her midwife what had happened. "I told her I needed help," she says. "I was afraid for my baby." That night, DeJesus went into labor, and in short order gave birth to her daughter Emily -- who, despite her mother's prenatal relapse, came out perfectly healthy.
DeJesus' problems, however, were only beginning. Her midwife, it seems, had told the hospital where DeJesus was having her baby about her drug use. The doctors then tested newborn Emily for drug traces; when the tests came up positive, hospital staff called the police.
As DeJesus lay recuperating in her hospital room, Henderson County sheriffs marched in to interrogate her. By taking a drug that could have harmed her unborn child, they said, DeJesus had committed felonious child abuse. She is now awaiting a trial that could end with her sentenced to more than three years behind bars.
The concept behind DeJesus' prosecution is often referred to as "fetal rights": the notion that unborn babies deserve the same legal protections as children. After hibernating for several years, the issue is creeping back into view across the country, with a rash of women being charged criminally, or having their babies taken away from them, because they took drugs while pregnant.
The trend is deeply alarming to women's rights advocates and health-care workers, who warn that such a heavy-handed approach will only deter drug-addicted mothers-to-be from seeking out prenatal care. Moreover, many warn, such tactics may be paving the way for abortion -- the ultimate violation of "fetal rights" -- to legally be declared murder.
"These cases represent the intersection of the war on drugs and the war on abortion," says Lynn Paltrow, director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, who has successfully helped argue against dozens of similar prosecutions in the last decade. "There may have been a temporary lull, but the issue has not gone away."
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, spurred by hyperventilating news stories warning of a coming deluge of "crack babies," prosecutors in more than 30 states sought to stem the anticipated flood by charging scores of drug-using pregnant women with everything from child abuse to manslaughter. In nearly all cases, however, judges eventually threw out those prosecutions, in part because the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision had firmly established that a fetus is not a person in the eyes of the law.
But in the last year, a fresh crop of fetal-rights cases have sprung up. In April, a 26-year-old Texas woman was indicted for child endangerment after her newborn tested positive for cocaine. The same month, a Pennsylvania judge ruled that prosecutors could charge an addicted mother with child endangerment for using heroin while pregnant -- even if her baby was born healthy. This spring, the Oklahoma state legislature nearly passed a bill making it a misdemeanor for pregnant drug abusers to fail to get substance-abuse treatment. And in Georgia, 21-year-old Shannon Moss is facing murder charges for allegedly killing her fetus by taking cocaine and amphetamines while pregnant.
Moreover, in recent years at least 17 states have enacted civil laws making it possible for authorities to take away the children of pregnant women who test positive for drugs. The Ohio Supreme Court may take up the issue soon. So far, hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of children have been taken from their mothers as the result of a single positive drug test, according to the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy.
The most bitter battleground, however, is South Carolina, the only state so far to have explicitly extended criminal child-abuse laws to cover fetuses. Despite directly contrary rulings in numerous other states, South Carolina's Supreme Court declared in 1997 that drug-using pregnant women can be prosecuted criminally -- and sentenced to as much as 10 years in prison.
Dozens of women have since been charged. Just last March, one woman was sentenced to three years in prison for violating her probation by "abusing" her unborn child with cocaine, and another drew a five-year suspended sentence for smoking marijuana while pregnant.
Such prosecutions were pioneered 11 years ago with the help of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, where zealous hospital officials started a program of testing pregnant women for drug use, and turning over their findings to police. The US Supreme Court will rule later this year on whether that practice violated the women's Fourth Amendment right of protection against unreasonable searches.
Those who prosecute pregnant drug users say they have everyone's best interests at heart. "I just want the babies to be safe," says Tommy Pope, chief prosecutor for South Carolina's York and Union Counties, where the two women convicted in March live. "We try to use prosecutions as a last resort. But you run into situations where a woman has had five kids, and they've all tested positive for crack. Where do you draw the line?"
"Unless addicts are forced to stop, they won't," seconds Bobby Hood, the attorney representing the city of Charleston in the Supreme Court case. The threat of prison, he maintains, "has a very good deterrent effect."
But in fact, according to a broad range of women's rights and major health care organizations, the threat of prison is more likely to hurt, not help, the unborn babies of drug users, by frightening drug-using mothers-to-be away from seeking prenatal care. The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and many other groups formally oppose criminal prosecutions of mothers of drug-exposed babies.
Even Daniel Kennedy , an Illinois lawyer who recently founded the incipient Fetal Rights Institute, doesn't think criminal prosecutions are the way to go. "Fetuses are definitely children," says Kennedy. "But jailing moms for hurting their kids prenatally doesn't help. It will only encourage women to seek abortions, or avoid treatment."
At least three drug treatment programs in South Carolina reported a drop in the number of pregnant women admitted in the months following the court decision. Brenda Dawkins, associate director of South Carolina's Keystone Substance Abuse Services Center, which treats many pregnant drug addicts, doesn't doubt the connection. "When the (state Supreme Court) decision came down, we were afraid women would not seek prenatal care, or would go over to North Carolina and continue using drugs, or would have their baby at home," says Dawkins. "All this has happened."
If fetal health were really the only issue involved, women's advocates point out, then prosecutors should also be going after expectant mothers who ingest other popular toxins. After all, according to the most recent national survey of pregnant woman, only a little over one percent used cocaine -- while nearly 20 percent smoked cigarettes, which are linked to a range of infant health problems, including as many as 7,000 deaths every year. Not to mention alcohol, the leading cause of preventable mental retardation in babies.
While there have been a handful of attempts to prosecute women for damaging their babies with heavy drinking, the vast majority of such cases have involved illegal drugs. Why? "Alcohol isn't illegal, cocaine is," explains Henderson County sheriff Carol Coss, who arrested Sally DeJesus. Yes, but the charge against DeJesus was child abuse, defined here as ingesting a substance that could have harmed her unborn baby; would Coss, then, arrest a woman for drinking a martini while pregnant? "Well," sighs Coss, "technically you could say it's abuse if you drink while pregnant. But no one's ever filed a report charging a woman with that."
Such prosecutions unfairly discriminate in other ways, women's advocates charge. South Carolina, where the attorney general has similarly stated that he will only prosecute pregnant women who use illegal drugs, suffers a chronic shortage of drug-treatment facilities for pregnant women -- meaning many pregnant addicts can't get professional help to quit even if they want to. Many other regions suffer a similar lack of services. New York City, for instance, ran 31 comprehensive drug-abuse and child-care clinics to deal specifically with drug-addicted mothers from 1990 to 1995 -- but almost half of these clinics have since been shut down. New York state, meanwhile, is currently considering a bill that would take away from mothers any newborn testing positive for drugs.
"There's a big misunderstanding that these women don't care about their babies," says Wyndi Anderson, executive director of South Carolina Advocates for Pregnant Women. "There just aren't the resources available for them to be able to take care of their babies. Lots of us grew up with parents who were alcoholics or drug addicts, but we have money to buffer us and keep the Department of Social Services from knocking on our doors."
A positive drug test -- even a recognizable drug habit -- does not necessarily predict someone's parenting ability, as any suburban weekend toker can attest. Studies and several major health-care and legal groups concur. As the American Bar Association's official position puts it, "[M]any people in our society suffer from drug or alcohol dependence yet remain fit to care for a child."
None of that, however, stopped authorities in Houston, Texas, from taking away Rita Veitenheimer's four children last fall, after her newborn tested positive for marijuana -- even though, according to the Times Record News of Wichita Falls, Texas, the baby was healthy and the older kids star students.
If criminal prosecutions against drug-using pregnant women continue to take root, Anderson and others predict the consequences for abortion rights will be dire. "If you're going to treat a fetus as a separate entity from the mother, why wouldn't you call abortion child abuse?" asks Anderson. That's a particularly relevant question in light of a bill recently passed by the House of Representatives that makes harming a fetus while attacking a woman an additional crime. Several states have passed similar laws.
All of that is academic to Sally DeJesus. For the time being, she's in a residential drug rehab center with baby Emily, just hoping to get clean for good, and to avoid jail. But no matter how her court case turns out, her life has been shattered. Her other kids are taunted in school because of her indictment, and her husband of 11 years is planning to divorce her, she says.
"What I did was wrong. I'm not trying to justify it," says DeJesus. "But I feel like I'm being punished for reaching out for help. I need this program now, not jail."
Comments
My son's girl friend is in jail. She is going to have a baby about Nov. She called me a few days ago to tell me she was hurting and was afraid. She sid she asked if she could see a doctor and they told her No they don't give prenatal care. She could only see a doctor if she was dying. Does my unborn grandbaby have to die before its mother can see a doctor. What is the rights of a unborn child. it didn't do any thing wrong. It can't help that it came along at a bad time.Can you help us or tell us someone who can
Thank you
When I was in Nursing school in the adjacent county to the one where DeJesus was charged there was a lady in my ob rotation who they would not let feed her baby because of positive pot test. They said that because she received public assistance for insurance that they could do this legally without her permission. Further the lady denied the positive test and said it was wrong. This was 14 years ago. I really hate to here the baby police have reemerged. I guess as a whole society is just not compassionate about anything unless they themselves relate to the situation. I thought that smoking cigarettes was more harmful for fetal health than pot. Noone is tested for that. Seems like being able to be honest and help your provider would be a good thing but obviously the powers that be know more than me. One of us is ignorant that is for sure. Wonder how many of them have given birth or for that matter bother to read the evidence about pot.
I am a heavy smoker of cigarettes and I was unable to quit during my pregnancy, but I did cut back. My child was born normal and healthy. The idea of being charged with child abuse for having a damned cigarette or even having a glass of wine just sounds absolutely appaling. But, I do admit, that I understand prosecutions for drug use ONLY if the patient consents to a drug test for her and her child at birth. No doctor should be able to test someone for something without any form of consent.
I can't understand why most people seem to find this topic so wrong. A fetus does have rights and if a mother isn't willing to do what is necessary for their own childs health, I don't believe they should have children, don't get me wrong, I did the whole works before I got pregnant at 18 and didn't touch it again. It felt wrong, and it oviously is. a parent should put their child first, not themself. I think it is a great thing that crack heads are getting charged for child abuse, because that is what it is!!!
Confused at other moms, you sound like a raving crack head...you dont know each persons situation and therefore cant speak on it--did you read the last line of the article? I do believe that people should sustain for the health of their child and their future, but if damage is done, taking the child just to put them in foster care unless the situation is extreme, may be worse. And what about the mother who gives her child fetal alchohol syndrom but gets to walk out the hospital with her child? Where is the sense in that when you have a child who test posative for marijuana but is otherwise perfectly normal, yet the mother ends up in jail...what type of prevention is that? The child gets to spend the most critical and impressionable time of their life without their mother...
Any mother who feeds their fetus pot, crack, meth, heroin or whatever. If they test positive. At least mandatory in-house drug treatment. I am raising one & waiting for the 2nd. Mom uses crack the whole time. It's not prevention. It's those of us that pick up the pieces
After reading this article I do feel somewhat different than I did about the situation in the fact that my father is a meth user and I am 19 years old now so I am well older enough now to where it does not bother me any more, and he was not always doing those things it just started a few years ago and he is 38 years old. And through him going through this experience it has taught me a lot, I have got to know his friends and have learned to love each one of them for their different traits, because all people are human beings you can find the good in everybody once you peel back the layers of hurt. And because I listened to them and treated them like humans they would confide in me, some things I would rather not have heard, but none the less they did and I would embrace them and listen to what they had to say. And out of his friends there were two of them that had gotten pregnant. Tanyah will be the first one I will tell you about, she was extremely into meth and if you've ever met somebody on meth yoou would know that they have no sense of right and wrong or even what they are doing. She had extreme bipolar disease on top of it too. And she would come over on a daily basis, but this one day she came up to me and said "Ashley I'm pregnant I don't know what to do. I can't lose another baby!" Because you see a few years earlier she had actually carried a baby full term and the baby was alive 3 weeks after she had it before it finally passed. She was devastated by it and even three years later she still visited the grave site on a regular basis. This occurrence was actually what led her to start using. When she came to me she started telling me all these different thoughts that were running through her head and one of them happened to be abortion. I immediately told her that there are other options and that she could get help if thats what she wanted to do. ahe told me the same things many other woman have said that they want help and would seek out help if it was offered. But after a long talk she finally said that the only way she is ever going to be clean is to move away and not be associated with it anymore. And I did not see or hear from her again until after the she had had the baby and the baby was 8 months old! Both of them were just as happy and healthy as they could be. The moment I say her I immediately could tell a difference. So she felt that baby in her belly and the responsibility that comes along with it. I personally believe that once you feel that baby in your stomach you know that it is not just about you anymore. And Crystal did the exact opposite, she spoke her concern but did not take the required action to do anything about the situation. She just continued doing what she was doing and when she went to the hospital and delivered her baby, just like this article said the next thing she knew the police were there telling her that they were taking her baby from her. And you better believe that both her and her boyfriend at the time were freaking out!But you know what after that happened the first place they went was right back to my dad's house and immediately they were on the phone talking to the people at the hospital and at the police station trying to figure how they can get their baby back. Them getting their baby takn from them was enough to where they were ready to do anything and everything they had to to get their baby back and they did two days later they checked into a rehab and cleaned them selves up and on top of that their were 3 other people in their circle of "friends" that checked themselves in as well! So for them it just helped them hit rock bottom and gave them the strength to do what they had to to get their lives straightened out and get their baby girl back. So for this reason I would agree that they should test these mother, I do think it should be mandatory, though I beleive that the mothers should be aware that the test is going on, but I do not believe they should have a choice in that matter, because if they know they have something in their system they will refuse the test.And I also believe they should have a limit on how much in the system that they will be able to actually take the baby from the parents because if it is only very minute then the baby should not be taken because there is not a problem. And with one more example I will explain my reasoning, another one of my dad's friends Jennifer had her little girl did meth throughout her pregnancy and after she had the little girl she would bring her over to his house and instead of bringing the baby into the room were they were actually doing the smoking they would leave her out sitting on the counter top and they would close the door behind them while the baby is still out on the counter! And of course on the days that I was there I would watch her but there were times that I had just gotten home and that precious baby would be sitting in her pumpkin seat on the counter by herself! I do also beleive that the mothers should be offered an ultimatum that they need to clean themselves up and be clean for a while with overseeing from the authorities for not just long enough to say okay I've completed my job, but over a gradual deelavation over several years with follow ups insuring that these mothers are not returning to their old ways. So for this reason I do agree with them taking the child from the parent if the drug lever is high enough, because what is worst taking a baby from a deserving mother every once and a while and that mother eventually getting the baby back or not screening the mothers at all and sending these defenseless babies home to neglectful mothers like these?
tommy pope is made of cold stones. He only cares about himself and his job which is putting everybody away. my nephew is serving life without parole because we were told to make my nephew say he did not want a jury trail (which he did want to begin with) at this time my nephew could of gotten a death sentence if given a jury trail. my nephews daughter has been sexually abused by the people that tommy pope defended!!!!!! the man is currently in prison also, i have no respect for south carolina's justice system. they make up their own rules
Here’s my story I started dating this girl about 4 months ago, about 2 months ago I almost broke up with her because of the crowd she hung around that were into drugs, and she smoked a lot, but she cried told me she would change her ways, had her mom call me and explain similar things, even had her father give her a blessing to help her, and made sure she would have it done unless I was there. Things went well for a few weeks then she told me she was pregnant it was a surprise but I’m 32 and she’s 29 and both our biological clocks are ticking and my family is really ready for me to start a family as am I. I would have like to wait a bit longer. Since she informed me she was pregnant about a week after she has started to slip back to her old negative environment ways, hanging around a best friend of hers that is supposedly trying to quit drugs also, and hanging around old drug scene. I’m feeling an immense amount of anxiety, and concern for the 9 week old fetus inside her, I also feel helpless, and don’t know of what my options are to reduce the harm that might be caused.
I HAD to ccomment. First, I am pregnant. Second, I am currently addicted to pain medication. Let ME be the one to tell everyone that I HAVE tried to stop on my own and I HAVE called every treatment center in my area. Did I get help? NO! They will not choose to help me because of the liability of me being pregnant. The only reason I went and saught pre-natal care was because I was hoping my OBGYN would reach out to me and give me some kind of help or even tell me he knew of someone who COULD HELP. I continue to take this medication, YES, I do not choose to still be fighting this battle. I am alone and I need proper care for my addiction. My OBGYN says that I cannot have another dirty drug screen. THEN WHY ISN'T HE HELPING ME? What makes me more upset is that I was open and honest about my problem. I knew that if something worked to get me "unhooked", then I would still be given the same medication after my baby was born. What kind of world is that? So I let him know that I had a problem so that when the baby was born, he would not prescribe the same meds I was addicted to while I had been pregnant. Unfortunatly, I am still in this battle. But, I am scared. I don't want someone to "call the proper athourities". I just want help, be done with it, without dragging my whole life down. I am tr ying to move up in life and get away6 from the addiction, I am NOT trying to make my life worse.
well i was 7 weeks along and so was my friend we were both 15 at the time
(a big mistake i did) well my other good friend was having a going away party and we had said we were going to go. liltle did i no that there going to be durgs and alchol at the party we ma friend dayna used to do crak and weed but she had stop 3 months befor she found out she was pregnant. well while we were at the party i guess she wanted to somke and snort really bad but i told her not to and she "said okay i wont" but then i told her i was going to pick my boyfirend from work and she okay ill wait for here and siad okay ill be back in 5 mintues. well i got back and every thing looked okay so did ma friend but she was acting a liltle weirder than usually?? well i paid no mind to it well time pasted on and we were both 7 months and she told me that she didebt fell the baby move any more! and i asked her if she had done
anything and she sid no so i belvelied her and 2 days later she told ne the same thing agin and we went to the hospital and we were there for hours and hours,then the doctor finnaly came out n told my friend and her boyfriend and i that the baby had passed away due to durg abuse ! and that was the end of the world for my friends ! that was the sadest day of our lives well now she leard her and now is having a healthly baby boy and i have a healthly 2 week old baby girl .
my son has gotten a girl pregnant so i have my first grandbaby coming in november the doctors say its a girl.i had a doughter thad died 19 years ago and i have 4 boys well the girl has been lying to me since day one she says that she hasnt been doing drugs and then i find out that she is still doing grugs my son wants custody of the baby when it gets here but im so scared that the courts wont consider my sons rights .
I strongly agree that any woman that uses drugs should be prosecuted for her neglegance toward her unborn child. These are innocent children that are being brought into this world with problems and abnormalities. The mothers aren't taking care of these kids, their mother or other family members are. If you are an addict or alcoholic and now the effects that this will have on your child then why even go through the motions of bringing a child into the world knowing the danger you put he/she in. If you're an addict, see a Physician about getting fixed or if you want kids, get help for the addiction. Overcome it and then have kids. They didn't ask to be born, they are a gift from GOD. I think the Fetal Abuse Law should be upheld. My reason being is that I have a 25 year old sister. I love her to death but I hate what she has done to her kids. She has lied and stolen hundreds of dollars from our mom and dad. She prostituted herself and slept with her cousins, all for a $20 high. she has taken her child support check and smoked it up. Not once did she think about her little daughter's needs. My dad has had to pay off huge debts for her. She has put a major strain on this family. Showing tuff love didn't work. Her first child, which is 2, got taken away from her in September because she wants to be stupid and smoke around the baby. Let me address that during the time, my sister was 7 months pregnant. Well, when the dad came to get the baby, he had to rush the baby to the hospital. There, the baby tested positive for cocaine. The CPS gave the father temporarily custody of the daughter. My sister was only allowed to see her daughter on Tuesday for 1 hour. My family hasn't seen Harmony in 2 months, because CPS won't let us visit. This is just until the mother completed parenting classes and tested negative every Wednesday til the 1st of November 2007. CPS tested her 2X, because they were always in the field. And you no what, my sister continued to smoke crack. She would smoke 3 days out of the week and give herself 3 days to test negative. She saw they weren't coming so she started smoking everyday. And when they did start testing her again, she tested positive. She lied to the CPS about our brother-in-law, who's a cop. She told them that he found a Rehab for her in Mississippi. So she told the case worker that she wanted to go to Rehab. I went and picked her up that Friday and dropped her off at S.O.A.R.S. My 15 year old daughter, my 2 month old son, and I went to visit her on Sunday. That Monday, I had to go pick my sister up and take her home because she had dialated 1 cm. This was on Medical Release. She didn't smoke that night, but the next day, she was back at it as if those 3 days in Rehab did nothing for her. She claim like she went through withdrawl. She was 37 weeks pregnant, dialated 1cm, and started back smoking crack. She said she hadn't felt the baby move since Tuesday. She had ran off and had been smoking everyday all day from Tuesday til 4am Saturday morning. On Saturday, November10, 2007, she gave birth to a 5# 11oz girl. They both are doing fine, but they both tested positive for cocaine and CPS will be there in the morning. With all of the new technology today, pregnant women don't have to give permission to be drug tested. It is mandatory at any Physicians office. Now, she's been given chance after chance, after chance to regain custody of her 2 year old daughter and the newborn. But she chose crack over her kids. I have a friend who has 1 chid and she is taking care of 3 of her aunts 5 kids that were born crack babies. Everyone of them have some type of abnormality. My friend is only 28, her son 9. The other kids, 12, 10, and 5. She never graduated because CPS was at her grandmothers house waiting to take those kids away. The things we do for our families are never appreciated and you never receive a Thank you or a I'm sorry. My sister needs help and if doing time in jail will help open her eyes, so then be it. Now all the hurt and pain of having kids, but you have lost Custody and Visitation all for what? A 15 minute high for you and a 2 week set back for the baby. I look at it like this, A hard head makes a soft @#!. You Wret what you Soe. And GOD will Punish them for their wrongful doings to his LAMBS.
Melissa Lisk, I have a strong feeling that with your son being the father, he will be granted full custody of the baby. And she won't have any rights to the baby, she'll be sent to jail, and if she has any more kids, CPS will come in and remove them from the home. That's if CPS handles their business. Atleast this is what will happen if she had the baby in Louisiana. Put all your faith in god and I will be praying for you. I would rather see a child with a loved one instead of a Foster Parent. Good Luck
A girl my friend know had 2 kids . Its known she does narcotic pain pills Her first kis died age 2 She kept doing the drugs all throughout and doctors said the baby was deformed and retarded and to not have it. she wanted welfare so she had it anyway she let it sit in its own feces while collecting benifits. She was now getting more scripts to after delivery she also deank she lost it later at age 2. She gets pregnant again to replace her needs. She even had teeth pulled to get pain meds. She has a 2nd kid who has autizm Where does this end? She collects and still is doing drugs given by her friend who knowingly knew both pregnancys that she was pregnant/ It makes me sick
Why The Innocent: I have a simular story. My youngest sister is a heroin addict. Her first daughter was born addicted and was in the hospital for the first two months going through withdrawals. My mother has custody of my niece and she is doing good. She is two now. My sister is pregant again and doing cocaine and tranquilizers. I fear for the baby. I have read what cocaine can do to an unborn child and by the grace of god if it survives it is not very promising. It breaks my heart. I do not understand her addiction but I can't forgive her for putting herself first and her children last. SHe has stollen from everyone and has slept around just for her drugs. She thinks we all owe her everything. She is living in Texas now and I heard they have some law that she can be prosecuted for using while pregnant. I thnk it would be good for her. I hope it would help her. I know that if she continues on the course she is at then she is going to die young. I don't know what to do. I am just sick over the thought of her baby. I have two boys and they are everything to me. I can't imagine doing to them what she is doing.
I believe that fetal rights are a good thing. I also think that if someone knows they have a problem and can't find help that they shouldn't blame the world for not helping them because it was their decision to start whatever they're addicted to. When you're just hurting yourself fine Its not bothering me but when you are damaging someones life then its wrong and needs to be stopped. Hello people they have condoms and birth control and some device you can have surgically implanted to not have children and when you are ready to safely raise a family you can have it removed!!! But mistakes happen and hopefully good comes out of this on-going debate. Look to God he is the light in the darkness.
i do agree with everything that has been said about drinking and doing drugs while pregnant but if people are addicted why send then to jail... like someone above said if alcohol isn't illegal why is coccaine drinking while pregnant still afeects the child.. makes it mentally retarded why just have cocaine. marijuanna. heroin,ecstacy,methamphedamine, and etc. I GUESS SOME PEOPLE DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT STUFF AND JUST DO IT .. who knows maybe alcohol will soon be illegal maybe abortion will be a crime who knows but what people now a days do knopw is that we should live for today and not ruin their lives or their kids lives just by shooting, up or snoking crack PEOPLE NEED TO STOP
when i read this article i just wanted to cry for the fact that woman would even want to do that to their children i think it is cruel, obnnoxious, and wrong i mean i know it is hard for mother's who are addicts to quit but they could at least seek help or try and quit them selves.... sometimes i wonder if god even had given somne people a brain to want to do that.. but also i might be a month preganant right now and i am addicted to smoking ciggarrettes sometimes i wonder if i will ever quit and change my ways but i guess some people just cant change while some people can....but also being addicted to smoking ciggarettes aint half as bad as heroin or crack coccaine or marijuanna maybe some people think their live is okay by being pregnant and doing all that i know i really cant say alot because of what i said about possibly being a month pregnannt and all but sstill i can and will seek help and soon as i find out for sure but i know other people not like me wont and they will keep harming their baby's or unborn babiesand keep getting in trouble with the law i resally do wonder sometimes though if some people will change their attitudes and the way they are bnut i guess they wont and cant
Addiction is a brain disease. A woman cannot stop JUST because she becomes pregnant. All addicts need treatment. A pregnant woman should be offered treatment first, and then if she refuses she should be given jail time. That said, some women do quit without treatment when they become pregnant, but the danger in that is that without treatment the possibility of relapse is exponencially increased. Treatment is always the best option.
well yes you made a mistake and you have to admit it im no one to jugde you only god can you dint care about nothing that time all you did was think about yourself and well youre not the only one the can commit that at least you know that somehow that was totally wrong from your part. But like i said im not God to judge you.
I do not see why any one could find the article wrong or politically incorrect!! My family is going through a situation that has to do with "fetal rights" and we could really use help!!!My brother in laws girlfriend is having a baby in four months, and she has been smoking pot most of the pregnancy, he is worried that she will run off or not be able to get custody of his unborn child, I am hoping that someone can give us some legal advice or just any type of advice. I need to know what his rights are...please email me at jdmgsr_96@yahoo.com!
I was with a girl for 8 months and now she is pregnant. she says its not mine. she does not want tt give me a dna test. she lied to me for 4 months and the whole time she was getting high on crack weed and alcohol. I have been trying to get someone to hear my concern but no one is paying me any attention.DCFS HERE in Illionis is not listening to me. Does ILLionis have a law to protect the unborn child? I need help. I have a 5 yr old girl who i have custody of since she was a month old. IF you have anyone here in Illionis in chicago who can help me please contact me asap
I was with a girl for 8 months and now she is pregnant. she says its not mine. she does not want tt give me a dna test. she lied to me for 4 months and the whole time she was getting high on crack weed and alcohol. I have been trying to get someone to hear my concern but no one is paying me any attention.DCFS HERE in Illionis is not listening to me. Does ILLionis have a law to protect the unborn child? I need help. I have a 5 yr old girl who i have custody of since she was a month old. IF you have anyone here in Illionis in chicago who can help me please contact me asap.You can call me at 1773-615-3016
People should keep in mind of the one of the last things quoted in this article. "If your going to treat a fetus as a seperate entity from the mother, why wouldn't you call abortion child abuse?" I do believe in Woman's Rights and am pro-choice when it comes to abortions. But I have had the same thing happen to me recently when my son was born. I tested positive for meth twice during the last part of my pregnancy and negative during my admittance to the hospital three days before the birth and after the birth of my child. Altho I am not condoning my drug use during my pregnancy, people make mistakes. Two days after he was born, on a July 4th weekend, CPS enters the room and wants to talk about a few things. I admitted to the postive drug screens(never knew they drug tested me during a prenatal visit to the Dr's.) The Investigator, in my opinion, did not give me nor the alleged father adequate or sufficient enough time to find a relative or friend willing to place our son in there home. Two hours later, after calling every Tom, Dick, and Harry we knew, CPS took him away to a Foster Parent. We are currently battling to get him back on what seems to be an endless lists of meetings, appointments, interviews, classes and tests. But what boggles me the most is that these women who are testing postive should be given a chance for treatment and recovery before the State takes away a baby they just gave birth too. My son was a healthy 9lb baby with no observable or demonstratable signs of a controlled substance being use nor was it present in his bodily fluids. I must say that taking away a baby from his mother not only effects the mother but the baby also. When do you get the chance to bond? Do they not think that many mothers will relapse into drug use again? Especially since they significantly torn there heart in two?
i understand i am also pregnant and also addictted to pain meds im scared im gonna get my baby taken but cant stop using i get very sick but i havent told my doc or anyone im just hoping that nothing happens but i am due to have my baby in 3 days and thats for sure because they are gonna induce my labor i hope they wont test me
I am in the same situation as you my husband and seperated for a while and as a result he had a 1 night stand and got a girl preganant, we would love to take custody of the baby, since I can't have children of my own. I was just wondering if you ever got the answer to your question.you can email me at mendy2008@rock.com Thanks and I hope everything turns out well for your friend.
I am in the same boat as you are. I'm not sure exacally how far along I am because I'm scared to go to the Dr. because I don't want them to find drugs in my system. I know I'm atlest 3 or 4 months pregnant. Do you know how long crack will stay in the fetus' system if I stop. I'm trying desperately to stop, it;s just to easy to come by sometimes
I am beside myself reading these posts. While in nursing school, I had to opportunity to do a rotation in a state run pediatric hospital, most of these children were abused in one form or another. This one case, a little boy born to a mother addicted to crack, (she stopped shortly after she found out she was pregnant, and stayed clean until after she delivered.) Well, the child was born with a brain half the size of a normal brain, his brain stem was malformed and his toes and fingers were fused together, and at two years old he is mentally and physically only seven months old. He has a trac, and is being fed via feeding tube that is placed in his abdomen. The mother has since started back with drugs, and is pregnant again. My suggestion to anybody addicted to drugs: go to one of these facilities, and volunteer to be a caregiver for a child born to drug a addicted mother, even if just for a day. If that does not scare you into either getting some serious help or at the very least, abort your fetus, than I say, "SHAME ON YOU! What has that child done to deserve a life (such as it would be)of misery?"
As far as how long does the drug stay in the fetus, I'm blown away for the fact your only concern is popping positive! The fetus's liver is undeveloped and therefore can not rid its body of the toxins you so willingly put into its system, so the lucky baby gets to have the drug pool in its system twice if not three times longer than you do... Oh isn't that child lucky to feel the high longer than you! You go girl!
One more thing; For those women out there who are trying to stay clean for the sake of their unborn child, hang in there, it is not an easy road, but think of your baby. I am sorry if I seemed to be judgmental, but after seeing these children and reading some of these posts, one has to wonder what does it take to stop this madness? These women need to understand what is going to happen to their unborn child, and what will happen to them if they continue in this manor. I am not one for a child being tossed in foster care... But honestly, if these women refuse to get help and stay with it no matter how hard the road is to travel, than what other recourse is there? Mandated sterilization?
There has to be resources out there... But does it not also pertain to the mother wanting the help, and wanting it bad enough no matter what it takes to stay clean? All I see in these posts are excuses and tossing the responsibility off on others. Isn't that where is all has to end in order for healing and recovery to begin? In other words, doesn't the responsible party need to man up and take the blame, stop making excuses for why it is and get clean?
When they tested me and my
Submitted by TIFFANY (not verified) on Sun Mar. 8, 2009 7:08 PM PDT.
When they tested me and my son after he was born, they told us that took a stool sample from him that will date back as far as 16 weeks pregnant. The meconium sample drug screen came back inconclusive, but they did a blood test also and it was negative for both me and him. I know how hard it is to be addicted to a drug and being pregnant.Some days you tell yourself that this has got to stop, your poor baby growing inside you is suffering too, and the next day you think that it will be ok and everything will work out, no one will find out, cps wont get a phone call from the hospital... But to all the expecting mothers, I am speaking from experience here. Avoiding prenatal visits is a red flag for one! I did the same when I was pregnant until I finally broke down and went at 7 months. When they try to send you to the lab for all the tests they run while you are pregnant, go to them! This is another red flag. Also, anyone on Medicaid will automatically be tested for drugs at EVERY prenatal visit. Mothers, if you think quiting is tough road, you have no idea whats in store once CPS is involved in your life and takes that newborn away from you. I was told by several people that CPS could get involved if they found out about my drug use during pregnancy but I knodded and smiled and only thinking to myself that they should mind there own business and stay out of mine. If I could just go back in time and listen to the warnings they were telling me then I wouldn't be fighting to the death to get my son back. When I got pregnant, I did not want to have him and looked into getting an abortion. But time went on and I got further along and well, it was too late for that opt. Sadly, I never really bonded with this pregnancy like I did my others. There was just so much stress in my life that the last thing I needed was another kid. Sure I got excited when I could feel him kick the first time, or watch my belly form odd shapes as he flip-flopped around, but I was so busy thinking about how I was going to keep doing drugs, keep my prenatal appointments, and CPS would never be called that those 9 months flew by me. But when I first saw that beautiful baby and how perfect he was and so thankful that he weighed 9lbs and was healthy, that the first tears I cried for him was in disgust at myself for the things I had already put him through. How could I have done that him? I only thought of myself and my own feelings while I was pregnant, but now, now it was whole new different attitude. I love this child so much. Anyone who doesnt believe in love at first sight, never gave birth to the love of there life. And now this love was taken out of my arms by the State of Texas. He is 8 months old already, hard to believe how fast time goes by. And we are still battling with CPS to get him back. This is not something that has been an easy task. This is not something you want in your life. This is NOT worth the drugs high! I wish all of you the best of luck in this and please feel free to email me at tiffanyxxxstevens@yahoo.com if any of you need someone to talk to or if you have any questions relating that I can try to help you with. You all need a huge support system right now and I'm here to talk to if needed. Try to stay as busy as possible, find a church, take long walks around the park, find an N/A support group, surround yourself with positive people who will support you in any way. The worst thing you can do is spend too much time by yourself. Too much time leaves to much time to think and too much thinking alone will definately cause you to relapse. Pray for more strength at night...
*To all of the hypocritical minds and the judgements passed on to me and all the other families involved:
We were not made to be perfect as we all make mistakes in life. Some are worse than others, but this does not give you ANY right to talk down to those of us struggling with this issue. Instead of turning up your noses and backs to us, maybe you can think of a positive way to try and help change the outcome to be a good one. And if you can't do that then, well... I say you really don't care about the situation at all, you just want to have an opinion about it but not do anything to back up what you think we should all do. If you can't do anything to help fix the problem then you really shouldn't have an opinion about it at all...
please ive been searching
Submitted by nervous and expecting (not verified) on Sun Mar. 29, 2009 1:00 AM PDT.
please ive been searching for information on what the risks are of my baby being taken from me although i have already quit taking drugs i was still using during pregnancy the drugs are cleared from my system but i've heard that they may stay in in my babys system much longer and that blood samples taken from the ambilical cord at birth may have traces of illegal substances i used months ago are they going to take my baby please i need to know what i am up against i dont want to be seperated from my first child because of these mistakes of the past this baby has changed my whole life already and i will never touch drugs again not just for the health of my baby but for my own health because i have to stay healthy so i can be there for my child for the rest of life im scared i felt so guilty for using at all in my pregnancy but now must pre pare myself for the possibility of having to fight to keep my child please any info would be appreciated
Fetal
Submitted by planettech2 on Fri May. 1, 2009 11:36 AM PDT.
Studies suggest that drinking a large amount of alcohol at any one time may be more dangerous to the fetus than drinking small amounts more frequently. The fetus is most vulnerable to various types of injuries depending on the stage of development in which alcohol is encountered. A safe amount of drinking during pregnancy has not been determined, and all major authorities agree that women should not drink at all during pregnancy. Unfortunately, women sometimes wait until a pregnancy is confirmed before they stop drinking. By then, the embryo/fetus has gone through several weeks of critical development, a period during which exposure to alcohol can be very damaging. Therefore, the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse urges women who are pregnant or anticipating a pregnancy to abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages.
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akhil
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North Carolina Drug Treatment Centers-
omg thats a really sad story
Submitted by louis vuitton (not verified) on Sat Sep. 12, 2009 12:06 PM PDT.
omg thats a really sad story see what happeds when u take drugs
Fetal and Drug Abuse
Submitted by Kera Ngoun (not verified) on Mon Nov. 16, 2009 12:17 PM PST.
First of all regardless of mother being prosecuted due to taking drugs even with the unborn child growing in there belly, they should already be prosecuted for taking drugs in the first place, it's already illegal. Plus them taking drugs while being pregnant pushes it even more down the drain. Even if the baby somehow born healthy, you'll never know what would happen later down the road, there could be some problems hiding and won't occur til later on the childs life. I am for punishing mother's for there drug abuse. But not punishing them by sending them to jail, I say that would be the last resort, but to a facility that will help them with there drug problem.
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