Does.a Pregnant Woman Get Arrested if.her Baby Is Born Addicted to Heroin in.virginia

Good reproductive health policy starts with credible research

Good reproductive health policy starts with credible research

Substance Use During Pregnancy

Groundwork

Since the late 1980s, policymakers accept debated the question of how society should deal with the problem of substance use during pregnancy. Prosecutors have attempted to rely on a host of criminal laws already on the books to assault prenatal substance utilize. The Supreme Courts in Alabama and South Carolina have upheld convictions ruling that an individual'southward substance use in pregnancy constitutes criminal child abuse. Meanwhile, several states have expanded their civil child-welfare requirements to include prenatal substance use, so that prenatal drug exposure tin can provide grounds for terminating parental rights because of kid abuse or neglect. Further, some states, under the rubric of protecting the fetus, qualify civil commitment (such as forced admission to an inpatient handling plan) of pregnant people who utilize drugs; these policies sometimes likewise apply to alcohol use or other behaviors. 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. And in guild to receive federal child abuse prevention funds, states must require health intendance providers to notify kid protective services when the provider cares for an baby affected by illegal substance utilise. Finally, a number of states accept 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.

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Highlights

• 24 states and the District of Columbia consider substance use during pregnancy to exist child corruption under ceremonious child-welfare statutes, and 3 consider information technology grounds for civil commitment.
• 25 states and the Commune of Columbia require wellness care professionals to report suspected prenatal drug use, and viii states require them to test for prenatal drug exposure if they suspect drug utilize.
• 19 states have either created or funded drug handling programs specifically targeted to those who are pregnant, and 17 states and the District of Columbia provide pregnant people with priority admission to land-funded drug treatment programs.
• x states prohibit publicly funded drug handling programs from discriminating against meaning people.

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Topic

Geography

• U.s.: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Bailiwick of jersey, New Mexico, New York, Due north Carolina, Northward Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Isle, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

State Policies on Substance Use During Pregnancy
	SUBSTANCE USE DURING PREGNANCY CONSIDERED:		WHEN DRUG USE DIAGNOSED OR SUSPECTED, Land REQUIRES:		DRUG TREATMENT FOR PREGNANT INDIVIDUALS
Land	Child Corruption	Grounds for Civil Delivery	Reporting	Testing	Targeted Program Created	Pregnant People Given Priority Access in Full general Programs	Pregnant People Protected from Discrimination in Publicly Funded Programs
Alabama	X*					X	10
Alaska			X
Arizona	X		X			X
Arkansas	X		X		10	X
California			X		X
Colorado	X				X ξ​
Connecticut					Ten
Delaware						10
District of Columbia	10		X			X
Florida	10				X		X
Georgia	10					X
Illinois	10		X		X ξ​	10	Ten
Indiana	X †​			X	X
Iowa	X		X	X		X	X
Kansas						X	X
Kentucky	X		X	X	X	Ten	X
Louisiana	Ten		X	X
Maine			Ten			10
Maryland					X
Massachusetts			X
Michigan			X
Minnesota	10	X	X	X	X
Missouri	X Ω​				ξ	Ten ‡​	X
Montana			X
Nebraska
Nevada	X		X
New York					10
N Carolina					X
North Dakota	X		Ten	X
Ohio	X		10		X ξ​	X	Ten
Oklahoma			10			X	10
Oregon					ξ
Pennsylvania			Ten		10
Rhode Island	X		X	Ten
South Carolina	X*				X
South Dakota	X	10	X	X
Tennessee					X ξ​	X	X
Texas	X
Utah	X		X			X
Virginia	X		X		X ξ
Washington	Ten				10 ξ
Due west Virginia						X Ө​
Wisconsin	X	Ten	10		10	Tenᵝ
Total	24+DC	iii	25+DC	viii	19	17+DC	ten
*  The Alabama Supreme Court held that drug utilize while pregnant is considered chemical endangerment of a child. The S Carolina Supreme Court held that a viable fetus is a "person" under the state'southward criminal child-endangerment statute and that "maternal acts endangering or probable to endanger the life, comfort, or health of a viable fetus" establish criminal child abuse. † Country police prohibits a medical provider from releasing information nigh a pregnant individual's drug or booze examination without the patient'southward consent. ‡  Priority applies to pregnant people referred for treatment. ξ  Establishes requirements for health care providers to encourage and facilitate drug counseling. Ω Under state'southward child abuse law, a parent is considered unfit if they test positive for substances within eight hours subsequently delivery and accept previously been convicted of child abuse or neglect or if they failed to complete a drug treatment program recommended by Kid Protective Services. Ө Substance use providers that accept Medicaid must requite meaning people priority in accessing services. β  Wisconsin provides priority admission to pregnant people in both general and private programs.

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Does.a Pregnant Woman Get Arrested if.her Baby Is Born Addicted to Heroin in.virginia

Source: https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/substance-use-during-pregnancy

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