American states are imprisoning women who drink or do drugs while pregnant.
Tennesse has become the first American state to explicitly criminalise pregnant women who take illegal drugs and potentially harm their future children, the latest development in a debate pitting the rights of the mother against those of society and of the unborn.
Though the issue is not directly linked to the controversy over abortion, the state’s governor, Bill Haslam, signed the bill into law in July despite opposition from both pro-choice and pro-life advocates.
The bill is a response to the growing number of pregnant women who abuse drugs in the state. After being exposed to the drugs while in the uterus, newborn children have been found to suffer withdrawal symptoms, though research on the point has been criticised on methodological grounds.
After the Obama administration itself spoke out against the law, Governor Haslam insisted no woman or new mother would be charged if they underwent drug rehabilitation.
His defence of the legislation in the face of widespread criticism highlighted the difficulty legislators have in trying to balance the rights of both women and the unborn.
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American states are imprisoning women who drink or do drugs while pregnant.
Tennesse has become the first American state to explicitly criminalise pregnant women who take illegal drugs and potentially harm their future children, the latest development in a debate pitting the rights of the mother against those of society and of the unborn.
