September 26, 2007
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Drugs and Pregnancy
We talked about this on the show tonight and I said I wanted to post about it. The issue was whether a woman should be criminally responsible if her child is deformed if she uses drugs while pregnant.
It is said that it is her body. I found one article on this issue but it is old and I don’t know if it was appealed to the Supreme Court. Here is the link: Link
Do you think a woman should be held criminally responsible if she uses drugs while pregnant?
Comments (86)
Nes.
Uhhh. It’s not only her body, it’s another’s. Yes I strongly believe that a woman should be held accountable for another being’s welfare if she intends to carry this child and give birth to it.
Yes
No; simply having to raise the child brings regret every time she sees him/her.
That being said, she shouldn’t be allowed to raise the kid if she’s continuing the use of drugs… so… i dunno.
well being pro life I would say yes because such a woman harms a human being, but I think it goes beyond my pro life stance. Even using the pro choice stance, if the child is born with defects caused by the drugs, then the woman has permanently harmed her living human child whether one believes the child was alive or not during the pregnancy. Either way, it seems that the woman should be held responsible
No. Because it’s not really a baby yet. It’s just a blob of tissue. Who cares if that blob of tissue is permanently affected after it’s born, because it wasn’t really alive when you hurt it, right? Besides, that baby would have crimped your style anyways. Giving birth to a defective baby makes it easier to leave it in the dumpster at denny’s anyways.
/sarcasm.
Seriously, if killing a pregnant mother counts as a double homicide, shouldn’t a mother who harms the fetus in her stomach be held responsible for a similar action?
They should just abort it and save time. Worst case; it could end up a retard, and last thing we need in this country is more retards.
The strip malls and Bright Eyes concerts and churches and Palanhuik lectures are already crowded.
It’s true, it’s her body, but she has to take into account that her body isn’t operating on its own, but it’s providing for that of another. Another one which is in the development stages and so will be harmed in ways that her body can’t even begin to imagine. On one hand, I wanna say yes, because she’s ruining the life of the child. But on the other hand, what exactly would you charge her with? I mean, it’s definitely deserving of punishment, and I’m no lawyer or anything so I’m not the expert on this, but what the charges be? And plus, any fines or jail time or whatever just complicates the care of the child, which is really the mother’s fault in the first place but the child can’t be endangered just to get at the mother … it’s complex.
“The strip malls and Bright Eyes concerts and churches and Palanhuik lectures are already crowded.”
Especially those Bright Eyes concerts. Those have to stop.
Tentatively – yes. But that would also create a double-standard – if the woman doesn’t want the child she can abort it but if she does drugs and hurts something she can legally kill that’s a problem? I also don’t understand how killing a pregnant woman counts as double homicide – it’s only a baby if she wants it? I’m pro-life but I think our justice system needs to come down on one side of the other instead of making hypocritical rulings.
Yes. Child endangerment.
Okay, so LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT. A woman can have her baby’s BONES CRUSHED AND BRAIN VACUUMED OUT, BUT SHE CAN’T choose to do drugs, with which there is only a POSSIBILITY of DEFORMATION????????????????????????????????????? What in the hell?!
I agree.
ABORT ALL BRIGHT EYES FANS
Yes
Heyyyy DMV, turn on NBC in …25 minutes…there’s gonna be some Bri- uh I mean boobs, yeah, boobs, on NBC….
Seriously. What kind of fucked up person would answer “yes” to this question, if that person is also pro-choice???
Yes If you have ever worked in the foster care system or with neglected children you quickly realize what a women puts in her body when she is pregnant dose not just affect her and she is not the one that ultimately lives with the results of her actions the child does
she is not the one that ultimately lives with the results of her actions the child does
yeah and when you abort a baby, the child doesn’t LIVE with the result of her actions, he DIES as a result of her actions.
Why not just abort the woman’s life if she is doing drugs while pregnant?
Actually, having to raise a deformed child (and seeing with a parent’s eyes the suffering it goes through) is punishment enough. We don’t need to criminalize every bad act – sometimes the results of the act is punishment enough.
my question is why is she doing drugs while she is pregnant
Y..N..Y..N..Y..N..
Seriously, that’s how I started this comment quite a few times. First with a yes, then with a no. So to be simple and humble I’ll say, I really don’t know. This is a touchy issue, along with the question you had re: if women should go to jail with illegal abortions.
My gut says yes, because in both these cases someone was reponsible for a child and did something that caused them to a)not live or b)live, but not normally. However, I also think that the root of these choices is very deep, and a reflection of a woman who needs a lot of help. Recieving an abortion, or being on drugs are 2 really big things, and show that a woman needs counseling, help, assistance, etc.
No
Yes. If you’re going to carry a baby. you need to take responsibility for its health before its born.
YES YES YES…we got a serious problem with mothers smoking meth or using very hard drugs while they were pregnant. Those babies are harm because they are addiction to it too! Anyone that say no in here are STUPID!
I depends on what drug, I suppose. Definitely yes if they’re illegal. But I really don’t know.
RYC: Agreed. Also though, media has created a fear now that parents don’t ‘send’ their children outside, they only get to go outside if mom or dad goes out also. I remember as a child, mom would have no idea who’s backyard I was in. We knew that supper was around 6, and if we missed it we’d be in trouble! Today’s world, not nearly as fun for a kid I think.
I’ve never thought of that, but I would say yes, because if she doesn’t care about taking care of her baby while in her own womb, she certainly isn’t going to take care of the baby once born, so she might as well be in jail so she can’t harm the child any worse than she already has. That’s just my first thought about it. God bless,
~Grampy~
Well…
I’ve seen a case where a pregnant lady sued the county(state?) for getting a ticket for being on the car-pool lane. And she won.
Given this trend, if women are to secure rights to their unborn child as a live entity, she must be held liable in some shape or form. Criminally liable? Well…. the courts will end up being really busy!
Yeah. Although I’m all for the whole “my body, my choice” idea, if you make the choice to have a kid, you need to make the choice to at least give it a chance at having a good life by not putting crap into it before it’s even out of the womb.
Yes, the effects of the drugs on the babies are terribly drastic. It stops them from living a fullfilling life. Many of these babies grow to be dependent adults. They need constant care and attention. It’s terribly sad. If we can prevent this situation, I’m all for it.
Legally responsible? No.
Have you ever seen a kid with fetal alchohol syndrome or a crack kid? They don’t even look normal. Their behavior is atrocious, and they can’t learn. It’s very sad.
I dont think people who agree with abortion or “A Woman’s Choice” can say yes to this and no to abortion, seeing as they both cause harm to the child
but since I believe abortion is wrong – I will agree this is wrong as well
I mean, how would you feel if you were deformed because your mom smoked crack while pregant?
Daniel (doubledb)
They should be held criminally reponsible only if it’s proven that the drug that caused it was illegal, like heroin or methamphetamine. If it’s not illegal, like alcohol or cigarettes, then no, they shouldn’t be.
Yes. The sentence will be work the rest of her life to care for this child. If she goes to jail, I have to work the rest of my life to care for both of them…..and everyone like them.
Well, being as drug abuse is illegal whether your pregnant or not … pretty much makes this a no-brainer.
Yes, and my reason is because of the answer above me.
People should start taking responsibly when they get pregnant! We are losing respect for human life and it’s just going to get worse, in a matter of time. I so pissed off and tired I will write a long ramble about human life tomorrow.
> YES
Peace
AN OPEN LETTER TO TEENS WHO ARE AGAINST THEIR PARENTS: (In response to MoonFaeEyryan’s xanga entry)
There’s this girl in xanga who wrote a rant to all parents who have teenagers. She completely raged against them, how parents are misunderstanding, distrusting and limiting freedom for their teenage sons and daughters
I can see her point, but like all teenagers, she hasn’t reached that point where you’re mature enough to say that you’re parents are somehow right.
By this time, those of you who have read the first few lines, are by now, ranting against me, booing me and all that.
Well, let me explain:
I’m an ordinary person. I love to have fun, I want to experience kissing the guy I love, I eat out at fast food restaurants, I laugh out loud, I watch tv, I listen to music, I paint my nails, I hate math and I’ve been a teenager too.
But I’ve never been wild. Not like some of you out there—the root causes of why your parents are grounding you, limiting your freedom and acting like a drill sergeant.
They’re just protecting you. It’s their job after all. Our job is to be good daughters and sons. Not just for our own sakes, but for theirs and God’s as well.
The number one reason why your parents are acting toward you in that way is because you yourself are acting and behaving badly.
To be honest, I’m a lady with raging hormones–maybe twice as that of a teenager. But I have a conscience. No matter how hot and horny I am–never have I taken my clothes off in front of a guy nor send nude pictures of myself to a boyfriend (which my sister did) nor did I strip off my clothes because I felt that my current boyfriend is the one and then dump him coz I got bored with him (which what the girl who made a rant letter to parents, did) or that I would eat my words and claim I was a good role model and in a few weeks later, nude photos appeared on the internet (like what Gabriella Montez, aka Vanessa Hudgens of Highschool musical, did)
The 3 girls I have described are 3 teens who are behaving badly. They ought to be criticized for what they did.
I do and so do the parents.
But you know what I found out?
Parents still love you enough to tolerate your bad behavior just so you would try to obey them, change your bad habits or spend quality time with them.
I do not agree to this whole tolerating thing–but in my family, I’ve observed that you teens out there are definitely barking up the wrong tree.
You know what my parents did?
When we are at the mall or at church, my sister is not with us. It was Sunday and like all Sundays for the past few months, she never comes with us to church because she goes to badminton practice–even on Sundays just so she could be with her pathetic boyfriend. She made her boyfriend her priority over us. My parents got mad at her. There was always chaos at the house. I also raged against her, but then my dad said, “She’ll always be my daughter too”
So, even if she doesn’t come with us, wash the dishes or even spontaneously help around the house or even to volunteer to wash her dirty laundry (not to mention her panties), they still buy her things, they still give her allowance, freedom–despite the evil she has brought in the family. There were even several times when she comes home so late at night, around 11:30pm and her class ends always at 7:30pm…and yet, my parents still forgive her time and again, even if I always looked at her with contempt.
I’ve been angry at them for having this “hear no evil, see no evil, talk no evil” kinda thing, but in a way, they’re somehow right (in a parents’ level of understanding). If you’re a good parent, you’ll always want to protect your kids no matter how bitchy, cruel or selfish they are.
I’m 21, but I’ve got maternal instincts, so maybe I don’t like what my parents say or do 100%, but I can understand them if I try to see from their point of view.
They love you, us.
As for the other half who blames the media, again, I’m breaking rules.
It is NOT the media’s fault for exaggerating.
I know. I should know. My dad’s a journalist after all. His job is to let the world see what’s happening out there. Since we are living in different countries, the media made it possible for all of us to see and hear what’s going on even to the remotest part of the planet.
It might seem that they exaggerate, but they’re not.
If you’re looking for someone to blame, blame yourself for posting nude pics or for doing something cruel or evil.
Hollywood actress of not, we are responsible for our actions that are seen in public (and I mean with a camera or without)
The media doesn’t promote premarital sex or nudists, it’s the surroundings, your peers or yourself who are promoting it.
Without you doing the said action, the media wouldn’t be there too.
The fault is in us–not in the high tech gadgets, reporters or paparazzi.
So, yes, I was once a teenager. I’ve been to parties and I have raging hormones. But I know enough not to do bad things that might endanger me, my health or other people. I complain, I get irritated, I get confused and I get frustrated. But I never did anything THAT vile.
I am mature enough.
You teens think you’re mature enough?
Think again.
Most Definitly!
if she knows she is pregnant, then yes, lock her up and give the kid to a real parent.
No. no “right” ever infringes on another persons right. (i.e. the right to speech is curbed if you yell fire in a theatre.) for petes sake, parents are bad enough nowadays, can we have some sort of standard?
i meant YES
haha
That would open a can on worms- then we might have to hold mothers responsible if the baby has neural tube defects from nutritional deficits of folic acid, or defects from known genetic illnesses, or defects from their diabetic moms not having good glucose control.
Full agreement with Breath_of_Dawn. Pregnant women know that what they take in goes at least in part to the baby. If she takes drugs and harms it, then she ought to be held accountable for her actions.
Yes. There were a few episodes of ER that deal with this issue. The mother was put on the prison ward of the hospital and kept away from drugs during the rest of her pregnancy when it was discovered that she was drugging while pregnant.
The child needs to be taken away from her and she needs to spend time in jail and rehab.
I don’t know. Part of me thinks that just knowing that you caused this damage to your child, the guilt that would come of it, would be punishment enough.
Yes. She’s not only using the drugs on her body she’s endangering that baby’s body also. She should be also charged with all the criminal activities that have to do with minors, like endangering the welfare of a child, and whatever else they can get her for. And the baby should be taken away from her when it’s born.
….I…don’t know what to say.
I’m going to stay out of it. after all, I can’t get pregnet. being a guy and all.
ofcourse it is her fault. if she knew she was pregnant and still decide to take drugs then she should be responsible and not receive any financial help for her child if it is handicap. she knew the risk she is putting her and her child in.
My gut says yes. But what if she doesn’t know she’s pregnant (and I know of a couple cases where the person didn’t know they were pregnant until fairly far along in their pregnancy) or what if its prescription medicine that she has to take?
It should (at the least) be considered child abuse… No one in their right mind would give drugs to their children after they were born, so why start before? The last thing this world needs is children who will be born unhealthy because their “mother” took drugs or drank, causing that baby to live a disfunctional and possibly non-productive life. Furthermore, I am tired of paying for the support (through taxation) of other people’s children- especially those who are a burden to the system due to health reasons because their birth parent was an abuser.
“Seriously, if killing a pregnant mother counts as a double homicide, shouldn’t a mother who harms the fetus in her stomach be held responsible for a similar action? ” Bokgwai
(Excellent point, Bokgwai…)
I think so.
What squeakysoul said – living with the consequences of your actions is often punishment enough. Also, I don’t like the slippery slope where this is headed – does that mean tomorrow you’ll ask, “should we prosecute women who drink/ smoke/ bungee-jump while pregnant?”
That’s a hard issue. Really, it is her body, and she should be allowed to mess it up as she wishes. However, since she is carrying a baby, she is technically giving drugs to an infant, which is child abuse…
For those who say raising a jacked up child is punishment enough, realize that a lot of the mothers who raise these babies aren’t exactly going to be #1 moms. Not everyone cares for their children.
Nice item for reflection, Dan.
it would seem that if you are pro-choice it would be hypocritical to state that you believe a woman should be held responsible if she does drugs and deforms her baby. If you think abortion is okay, then you would have to think that doing drugs while pregnant is okay. AFter all, it’s not “alive”. If you didn’t believe that, you would be a contradiction.
Yes. She potentially knew the dangers of using drugs could hurt her child.
Yes if they are illegal drugs or prescription drugs she was told she SHOULD NOT TAKE while pregnant.
well the question you asked is if she should be responsible for use of drugs, why not. now held responsible for the use if the child is deformed is not what you asked-to that i would say yes. in california the law is as follows: if you report drug use to your obgyn you are helped with treatment (depending on the substance, i mean this for actual synthetic drugs like coke or crank not alcohol, tobacco or marijuana) if you report usage of the others then you allowed the doctor to know. now if you don’t report usage before a certain date and the child tests positive for the mandatory drug test given at birth the state seizes your child. but again your question didn’t add the deformity part so its no one elses business how someone else funcitons.
I want to say yes, but I have a hard time condeming someone if they used drugs when they didn’t know that they were pregnant. But, how do you prove that they did or didn’t know? So if there is evidence that she used drugs in the last…I don’t know, 5 months of the pregnancy (they should know that they’re pregnant by then, right?), then yes. But otherwise, I would have to say no. Some women (myself included) aren’t regular enough to know if they are pregnant or not. I could be several months pregnant right now and not even know it.
also historically the prescribed drugs by an obgyn have been far more likely to cause permanent damage to a fetus-check out the anti-nausea drugs used in the past!
illegal drugs? why heck yes
i’m both pleased and impressed with the number of affirmative answers thus far- that gives me hope for the future of our nation…
and i further the affirmative with a resounding yes- it’s not just her body involved here. There’s obviously another life who’s wellbeing is directly affected by the choices she makes. And she should be held criminally responsible anyways if the drug is illegal. So yah.
Yes, I do believe it’s her body and her choice to do drugs if she chooses, but when it endangers another life, I believe that’s crossing the line. I also believe that it’s her body and her choices all the way to the point that she could use PROTECTION if her drug use is more important than the life of a child.
YES
It’s funny to me. A woman can kill the baby but not be criminally responsible, but if the baby is harmed and born, then she should go to jail? Anyone see an oddity here?
Yes definitely. She is responsible for that child growing inside her and it is her responsibility to NOT do anything intentionally that would harm that child.
I agree with teacherperson….it’s a double standard. But I believe that if the woman voluntarily uses illegal, known-to-be- harmful drugs and that baby is born addicted or disabled, then yes, she should be held criminally responsible, and should lose parental rights – that baby should be given a home where it will be taken care of properly.
Peter Kreeft once demolished the “its part of her body” argument. If the unborn baby is “a part of the mother’s body,” then fairly early on in the pregnancy, that woman could accurately be described as having two heads, two hearts, four arms, four legs, and — if she is carrying a boy to term — both kinds of genitalia as “parts of her body.” The absurdity of the notion shows how ridiculous the concept is.
The unborn child is not merely a “part of the mother’s body” any more than a car parked in a garage becomes “part of the garage.” The unborn child has a body all his own. The mere temporary and natural location of the baby’s body inside the mother does not change that.
ABSOLUTELY! A woman is just as responsible in this situation as a woman drugging her baby. It’s pretty much the same thing. People aren’t stupid these days, they know what they are doing and the risks they take.
Criminally responsible – That’s a very tough subject. The baby is not her body and she has committed a crime against another human being by taking drugs or alcohol. But enforcing it would be the tough issue. Being a Foster Parent and CASA worker I’ve seen many such incidents. I’ve seen many children that are affected by it. The court system is very kind to Mothers with children. Basically: Punish the Mom you punish the already punished child. The answer is too complicated for an across the board answer. It must be answered on a case by case basis.
I really don’t know. This whole subject makes me very sad. You can’t always prove that the drugs were the reason.
YES! You want to maintain the right to choose, then you have tos how the responsibility for the human life you plan to bring into the world. It’s just that easy.
Yes.
Yes, both parents-to-be should be responsible!
Yes
if you are pregnant its not just your body… there is another inside of you… that you harm if you use drugs…
now say you have a horrible addiction that requires force to get any sort of stopping… it gets iffy… but id like to believe that everyone that has said addictions and gets pregnant would take the time and effort to go through that for their offspring… then maybe we can all play in fields and ride off on unicorns into the sunset…
=)
yes.
No, that’s like trying to arrest a woman who smokes while pregnant, since tobacco is a drug. Why are people so preoccupied with things like this? Isn’t there a war going on?
I definitely think so. But, I don’t think it will happen until abortion is made illegal.
I wanted to say yes but, then again the mother is punish enough.
Yes.
no, but she must be stupid
No.
I just think it’s one of those things that’s really irresponsible, but they would just be going way overboard with making laws against it.