Drug use and pregnancy

Wow, this is such a slippery slope. If its okay to prosecute women merely for drug use while pregnant, and not just for drug use, what is the next step? Alcohol consumption? Smoking? Coffee drinking? How about traveling late in pregnancy?

Not only that, the DA is in effect declaring that the purpose of women is to deliver perfect babies untainted by any substance or action that might harm them. Huh. I thought I was more then my uterus.

I do not believe that using drugs of any sort during pregnancy is okay, in fact, I think if you are a mom doing any drugs (including alcohol) it is a grave thing that will effect you and your children the rest of your life. But, I also believe that a woman has a right to her own body, even with it jeopardizes her fetus, because ultimately the mom is more then a mom and should be valued for herself and not what she provides. The sorrow that she may cause from chemical use during pregnancy does effect us all, but it really is on her and not on us to be preventive in that manner.

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Well this is two-fold because it borders on child endangerment. Willingly and knowling using drugs while around your baby is no different than using during term. The potential for disaster is there either way.
(although using during term has the potential to genetically scare your child)

Either way, I dissagree with the Ethel. As a woman you have a choice to keep your legs closed. The moment you come to term with a living ism inside you, you now carry the moral weight of two seperate people and must decide what is best for the both of you.
When will people realize personal responsibility? Stop blameing society/culture/poverty, whatever!

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This is what I feel, NOT what I did or do. I wouldn’t ever drink alcohol nor use drugs while pregnant but I don’t use them when I’m not pregnant either. I have known many addicted people so maybe that’s why I have always shied away from using these kinds of things but I do think the bottom line is our bodies are OURS.

I don’t think taking babies away from mothers and putting them in jail is any way an answer. Putting them in jail doesn’t help with any addictions and IMO, would/could just make everything worse. Then what about the baby? Where does that baby go? If the mother is using anything then her life isn’t right to begin with.

Yes Derek, it would be better to “keep your legs closed” but that’s like shutting the barn door after the horse has gotten out. It’s not always that clear cut.

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If people were responsible the horse would never get out of the barn.
And what makes you think a drug addled mother would make a good mother?
Next thing you know we're seeing another report of mother puts baby in trash, mother puts baby in microwave, mother leaves baby alone. Then the whole wide community (who supported giving it back to her) will cry out in dismay "what was this lady doing with a child?".

I'm not a fan of gays, so take me at my word when I say this, but I would rather see the baby go to a clean house than be raised by an addict. She has a problem... if she can clean up her act, maybe then she should THINK before she acts and has another child.

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In this issue I see a major contradiction in what pregnant women are told. On one hand it is ok for them to terminate a pregnancy because "it is their body, their choice", but if they use drugs that in turn harm the baby, the are prosecuted for it. Is it their body/choice or not? I am a mother of 3, and I love my children, and I did all I could during pregnancy to ensure optimal health for myself and the baby. In addition, I believe in life at conception, and that abortion is wrong. But lawmakers need to be consistant. You can't tell someone it's ok to quickly kill the baby, but it's not ok to endanger it's health slowly. I think what we ultimately need is more education for pregnant women, and more options for them if they are either addicted to drugs, alcohol, etc, or are in an unwanted pregnancy situation. All I know is that the moment my babies came into the world and I held them for the first time against my heart, I knew I would never understand why someone would harm a miracle like this is ANY way.

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If this was a baby or child whose mom was not only abusing drugs while she's supposed to be caring for her child, but also giving her child illegal drugs to ingest, there would be no question, would there? Why should such a "mother" not lose custody like any other child abuser?

I understand the inconsistency between this and the right to abortion. However, I am not constrained by this issue since I never have bought into the assault on our constitution referred to as the "right to choose" what happens to "my body."

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How about this, how bout they just banned drugs(and possibly alcohol) from the United States and everybody can be happy ^_^ lol well how bout you have to be single or gay just to take drugs(error) i mean alcohol lol wow I dont know what i'm talking about.....how bout girls dont smoke, drink, or take drugs how bout that lol jk

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This is my thoughts!We all have the right to choose as individuals how we want to live our lives and how we treat our OWN bodies.But when there is an innocent life of a child growing inside of your body it is NO longer just Me,Myself,and I!!! It becomes My Baby ALWAYS 1st,then Me,Myself,and I Always 2nd!!!!! These self-centered women obviously have no concern what so ever for the welfare of their unborn child!:( So making them do some hard time in jail,prison,or wherever is the right thing to do.It might give them a reality wake up call:) Saying there is nothing in that town to do but drugs...WHATEVER!!They should have practiced keeping their legs closed or birth control!!Maybe just saying "NO" so the innocent lives of those babies(who never asked to be brought in this World)didn't have to suffer the pain that their so called "Mommies"put them through!! It's child abuse no matter how you look at it and it's immoral,cruel,and unfair to those babies!!These women had a choice....and they chose wrong!!YOU MAKE YOUR OWN BED....SO NOW LAY IN IT!!!!!!!

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I wonder if this prosecutor is also charging industries that are polluting Alabama's air, water and soil with poisons, pesticides, mercury, ethanol, lead (all known to damage a fetus and cause childhood birth defects) with felony child abuse or is it just mothers with the disease of addiction?

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