drug use during pregnancy laws in georgia
Women might use opioids as prescribed, misuse prescription opioids, use illicit opioids such as heroin, or use opioids (opioid agonists and/or antagonists) as treatment for opioid use disorder. The laws can vary widely from state to state in terms of reporting requirements and consequences of reporting. 1. Smoking during and after pregnancy also increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Terminating a mothers rights to her newborn is an especially brutal drug war tactic that research and experience show will inflict far more harm than good on the children and families it allegedly aims to protect. 2007), State v. Hudson, 2007 Tenn. Crim. So the very condition that Kentucky believes should trigger fast-tracked termination of parental rights is in fact often most effectively treated by close, consistent contact between the mother and newborn. How you know. July 14, 2014 -- Though the first mother has been charged under a new Tennessee law that makes it a crime to use drugs while pregnant, many of the most respected medical groups have opposed . Tennessee is the only state that has enacted a law that targets substance use by pregnant women on the basis of presumed harm to the fetus or child. Quitline coaches can answer questions, help you develop a quit plan, and provide support. The Tips campaign features information about how smoking and secondhand smoking affect specific groups, including pregnant women or women planning to have a baby. While medication assisted treatment (MAT) is covered under Arizonas newly expanded Medicaid programs, Arizonans still struggle withaccessto MAT treatment. Substance use providers that accept Medicaid must give pregnant people priority in accessing services. Before losing contact with her lawyer, M. told me her story via email. As is true across the nation, rural areas have limited, if any, access to MAT. More and more states are adopting drug testing for newborns because of the recent increase in opioid use . The use of illicit substances such as cocaine and heroin during pregnancy is common. The other opinion33 that directly referenced medical literature did so to demonstrate the range of behaviors that are not legally proscribed (e.g., smoking, failing to obtain prenatal care) that are associated with poor neonatal outcomes. 96 A 2017 opinion posted by . A total of 24 published judicial opinions met the inclusion criteria (Table 1). Also, some of the flavorings used in e-cigarettes may be harmful to a developing baby. MSACD collaborates with Georgias Alcohol Prevention Providers and their communities in all six of Georgias regions to raise awareness about alcohol and substance abuse among pregnant women. Three courts stated that permitting prosecutions under the contested statute was counterproductive to state policy goals and public health. Wisconsin provides priority access to pregnant people in both general and private programs. Wisconsin provides priority access to pregnant people in both general and private programs. Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data. Georgia Marijuana Statutes Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, even as some states have legalized it for recreational and medicinal use. Getty Creative. Call 1-800-GEORGIA to verify that a website is an official website of the State of Georgia. This is all exacerbated by a series of measures Arizona has undertaken to constrict its social safety net, leaving families struggling with inadequate access to cash, food, housing, child care, and transportation. His girlfriend is also a meth addict. As of last year, they were still apart, and M. has since lost touch with her lawyer. Despite a lack of criminal statutes specifically targeting substance use by pregnant women in other states, women have been charged and, infrequently, convicted of a range of criminal offenses for illicit substance use while pregnant, including child abuse, assault, manslaughter, and murder.15 In two states, South Carolina and Alabama, these convictions have been upheld by the state supreme court.16,,18 The effect of these rulings is to permit women to be convicted for substance use during pregnancy under existing laws that are not specific to pregnancy. These may include the medical model of substance use disorders,4 racial disparities in substance use screening and reporting in pregnancy,47 and the difficulty of attributing a particular birth outcome to a single cause.48, Criminalization of pregnant women for substance abuse is fraught with problems related to conceptual and practical implementation, even if in theory one believes that substance use in pregnancy is both a moral dilemma and a medical problem. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. Prescription Opioid Pain Reliever Use During Pregnancy, The US Opioid Crisis & Maternal Infant Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least two states, Arizona and Kentucky, have just made it easier to terminate the rights of mothers who use controlled substances while pregnant. Fentanylis a prescription opioid that can be used to treat severe pain. You can review and change the way we collect information below. The number of pregnant women with opioid use disorder at labor and delivery more than quadrupled from 1999 to 2014, according to a recent CDC analysis. Learn more about e-cigarettes and pregnancy, pregnant women or women planning to have a baby, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, How to Manage Your Chronic Disease During a Disaster, Disaster Safety for Expecting and New Parents, Tools and Resources for Public Health Professionals, Safety Messages For Pregnant, Postpartum, and Breastfeeding People During Disasters, Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Program, Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, Pregnancy-Related Deaths: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees in 36 US States, 20172019, Pregnancy-Related Deaths Among American Indian or Alaska Native Persons: Data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees in 36 US States, 20172019, Maternal Mortality Review Information Application, State Strategies for Preventing Pregnancy-Related Deaths, Infographic: Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Pregnancy-Related Deaths United States, 20072016, Addressing Opioid Use Disorder to Improve Maternal and Infant Health, Working with States, Federal Partners, and National Organizations, Infographic: The US Opioid Crisis & Maternal and Infant Health, National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives, Perinatal Quality Collaboratives: Working Together to Improve Maternal Outcomes, CDC Contraceptive Guidance for Health Care Providers, eBook: Selected Recommendations for Contraceptive Use, Providing Quality Family Planning Services, Data and Statistics: Need for Contraceptive Services Among Women of Reproductive Age, Common Reproductive Health Concerns for Women, Monitoring and Evaluating Maternal and Child Health Programs, Infographic of Saving Mothers, Giving Life Approach, Infographic: Saving Mothers, Giving Life in Uganda, Infographic: Saving Mothers, Giving Life Path to Safe Motherhood, Monitoring and Evaluation to Document SMGLs Progress, Maternal and Reproductive Health in Tanzania Project, Improving Access to Quality Maternity Care to Reduce Maternal and Newborn Deaths, Monitoring and Evaluating to Document the Health Improvements, Strengthening Maternal and Newborn Health Surveillance Systems, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. MSACD is committed to raising the awareness of thedevastating effects of alcohol and other substances whenused during pregnancy. Disclosures of financial or other potential conflicts of interest: None. 1 Unhealthy drug use is more commonly reported by young adults aged 18 to 25 . Meanwhile, private insurance companies have found ways to circumvent Obamacare requirements on MAT coverage. Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, the average . Her infant tested positive for cocaine shortly after birth. Cases of Women Charged With Child Abuse-Related Crimes for Substance Use During Pregnancy The substances related to the charges were cocaine ( n = 15), methamphetamine ( n = 10), heroin ( n = 2), marijuana ( n = 1), oxycodone ( n = 1), and unspecified prescription pills ( n = 1). State law prohibits a medical provider from releasing information about a pregnant individuals drug or alcohol test without the patients consent. Several leading medical organizations opposed the legislation and cautioned that it would have a negative public health effect of scaring women away from seeking medical help. Y.N., 104 A.3d 244 (N.J. 2014), Late-Onset Sex Offending and the Assessment of Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD), Factors Associated with Successful Completion of Juvenile Mental Health Court, by The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, https://www.guttmacher.org/statecenter/spibs/spib_SADP.pdf/, http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/05/10/tennessee-voices-drug-use-pregnancy-epidemic/8914401/, http://wpde.com/news/videos/regina-mcknight-released-from-prison/, 2017 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Saving Lives, Protecting People, https://www.samhsa.gov/medication-assisted-treatment, prevent overdoses and substance use-related harms, Learn about the Division of Reproductive Healths efforts to address opioid use disorder to improve maternal and infant health, CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, A Collaborative Approach to the Treatment of Pregnant Women with Opioid Use Disorders, Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy, Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women with Opioid Use Disorder and their infants, Final Report: Opioid Use, Misuse, and Overdose in Women, What We Can Do About Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy, SAMHSAs Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator, guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, What You Need to Know About Marijuana Use and Pregnancy, The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research (2017), Prevalence and patterns of marijuana use among pregnant and nonpregnant women of reproductive age. 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. Babies exposed to cocaine in the womb have a 25 percent increased chance of being born premature. There were over 100,000 drug overdose . She was charged with chemical endangerment of a child. 1977), State v. Gethers, 585 So.2d 1140, 1143 (Fla. Dist. Although the legal bases for appellate court decisions varied (see Table 1), the functional outcome was that the charges were dismissed (n = 14) or convictions overturned (n = 11) for 86.2 percent of the women (25/ 29). Most states do not have a law that requires hospitals to test infants and new moms for controlled substances. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. Learn more at Alcohol Use in Pregnancy from the Division of Birth Defects and Infant Disorders. 1991), State v. Luster, 419 S.E.2d 32 (Ga. Ct. App. Here is a survey of state laws. 2006), State v. Wade, 232 S.W.3d 663, 665 (Mo. Apr 20, 2022, M. Forrest Behne, Craig Waleed, Meghan Peterson, and Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein Many of the early cases were related to maternal cocaine use, whereas more recent cases tended to involve maternal methamphetamine use. As part of CDCs efforts to prevent overdoses and substance use-related harms, CDC is taking specific actions to prevent opioid use disorder among pregnant women and women who could become pregnant and to make sure women with opioid use disorder get proper treatment. Hair has been recognized as a possible alternate test specimen, but wider acceptance of hair testing must await . Since 1973, authorities in at least 45 states have sought to prosecute women for exposing their unborn children to drugs. Drugs with evidence of fetal harm were widely used. CPS immediately removed her newborn from her care, largely based on evidence of her opioid use. Convictions were upheld only in Alabama and South Carolina, involving a total of four women. Six ruled that the contested application of the statute to conduct during pregnancy violated due process, which requires that criminal offenses be defined in plain language so that an ordinary person has fair notice about the actions proscribed. We identified 24 judicial opinions published between 1977 and 2015 in cases involving 29 women prosecuted in 19 states. Neonatal exposure to some drugs during pregnancy can have harmful effects on development and may lead to acute adverse events, including neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and infant mortality. Cases of Women Charged With Child AbuseRelated Crimes for Substance Use During Pregnancy, The substances related to the charges were cocaine (n = 15), methamphetamine (n = 10), heroin (n = 2), marijuana (n = 1), oxycodone (n = 1), and unspecified prescription pills (n = 1). Ct. App. While a robust body of literature supports a causal connection between prenatal exposure to alcohol or tobacco (or lead or poverty for that matter) and negative postnatal health outcomes, thescientific literaturehas not conclusively demonstrated any long-term negative effect of prenatal exposure to opioids. 1995), State v. Dunn, 916 P.2d 952 (Wash. Ct. App. The infant was born prematurely. A November study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association tracked the rise of laws that criminalized taking drugs while pregnant, as well as classifying drug use during pregnancy as child abuse that could result in loss of custody rights or as grounds for a civil commitment. Many substance use treatment services dont accept pregnant women, or are otherwiseinaccessibleto them, despitefederalandstateregulations that require prioritizing them for treatment. At least in theory, legislatures could amend criminal laws to make clear that they intend them to apply to prenatal conduct that affects fetuses. Exact terminology for relevant crimes varies across states and broad inclusion criteria were used for initial case review. Many substance use treatment centers do not offer MAT due to the stigma associated with it, and those centers that do provide MAT have not necessarily fulfilled their responsibility toprioritizepregnant women. " Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, 5.4 percent were current illicit drug users based on data averaged across 2012 and 2013. The decisions do not go so far as to say that it would be unlawful for the legislature explicitly to prohibit substance use during pregnancy, although questions about the constitutionality of such an approach have been raised in the legal literature.2,3,20 Rather, most of the decisions simply found that the legislature did not intend for the existing criminal laws to apply to prenatal conduct. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health (19752020), Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health (19692020). Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas. Otherstudieshave found that babies exposed to cocaine in utero perform better on several developmental measures when left with their mothers than do those removed to foster care. Charges included child endangerment, child abuse, drug delivery, attempted aggravated child abuse, chemical endangerment of a child, child neglect, child mistreatment, homicide, manslaughter, and reckless injury to a child. 1994), Reinesto v. Superior Court, 894 P.2d 733 (Ariz. Ct. App. 297 (N.C. 2015), Arrests of and forced interventions on pregnant women in the United States, 19732005: implications for women's legal status and public health, State v. McKnight, 352 S.C. 635, 647 (S.C. 2003), Ankrom v. State, 152 So.3d 397, 411 (Ala. 2013), Moral and social issues regarding pregnant women who use and abuse drugs, A gap in the criminal justice system, creating a new class of felons in pregnant drug-addicted women, a state-by-state analysis, Prosecution of illicit drug use during pregnancy: Crystal Ferguson v. City of Charleston, From the Office of the General Counsel. The first case was adjudicated in 1977 and the last case in 2015. Such laws may discourage people from seeking prenatal care. This is all done under the cloak of what is in the best interest of the childbut that is ironic, because they are hurting my son.. State law prohibits a medical provider from releasing information about a pregnant individuals drug or alcohol test without the patients consent. Marijuana use during and after pregnancy and association of prenatal use on birth outcomes: A population-based study. To learn about CDC activities to educate the public about the harms of tobacco use, visit Tips From Former Smokers (Tips) from the Office on Smoking and Health. Kentucky similarly struggles with poverty, poor access to substance use treatment services, and a child protective system that spends more resources on placing children in foster care than keeping them with their families. Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Otherwise, the law on drug testing newborns varies from state to state. Establishes requirements for health care providers to encourage and facilitate drug counseling. M. thought she was doing the right thing. Fifteen states have laws requiring health care workers to report to authorities if they suspect a woman is abusing drugs during pregnancy. This means that first-time offenders will be issued an infraction (like a speeding ticket) instead of jail, with a maximum fine of $150. It found that parents face long wait lists when accessing substance use treatment services and often dont have the means to pay. If you or someone you know has a drug problem, seek help. Visitour state legislation trackerfor policy activity on all sexual and reproductive health topics. For example, onestudyfound that parents who use opiates find babies less cutewhile conceivably notable, this finding does not meet the legal standard for terminating a parents rights. Later in the pregnancy, these illicit drugs may cause. On June 13, 1997, the governor of Tennessee signed House Bill 1413, making it a Class A misdemeanor for child abuse where: (1) a woman consumes alcohol or illegal drugs during pregnancy with knowledge or the reason to know that such consumption may result in harm to her child; and (2) the child is born addicted to alcohol or drugs. They have 1 child together that was born prematurely due to her drug use. The substances being abused during pregnancy can include alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and opioid addiction. Arizona's legislation, which became law in April, permits termination of a mother's parental rights, either immediately when her newborn is born or within one year of her newborn's birth, depending on how chronic the illicit drug use appears to the court. She had become dependent on opioids, but when she learned she was pregnant, she immediately tried to enroll in a medication assisted treatment (MAT) program. Several methods of drug testing are efficacious in identifying and monitoring drug use during pregnancy. Professional advocacy may best be directed at state legislatures. Learn about the Division of Reproductive Healths efforts to address opioid use disorder to improve maternal and infant health. These cases typically involve significant civil matters, such as termination of parental rights or civil commitment to inpatient treatment facilities.55,56 There are instances where women have faced civil complaints for behavior that is consistent with current standards of care for medical treatment of addictions. The child was placed with CPS and now is in the custody of the great grandmother. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests. For each case, we recorded the charges, the substance abused, neonatal outcome, legal resolution of the case, and judicial reasoning. If a woman is drinking alcohol during pregnancy, it is never too late to stop. In males, marijuana is thought to decrease sperm quality and testosterone levels. But, for that matter, she could have been a pregnant alcoholic, causing fetal alcohol syndrome; or she could have been addicted to self abuse by smoking, or by abusing prescription painkillers, or over-the-counter medicine; or for that matter she could have been addicted to downhill skiing or some other sport creating serious risk of prenatal injury, risk which the mother wantonly disregarded as a matter of self-indulgence. The Florida Supreme Court found the medical testimony inadequate to support the trial court's finding that a delivery occurred during the birth process, even if the criminal statute had been applicable.29 In Arms v. State, Arms was also convicted of a drug delivery charge that was overturned by the state supreme court, in part on the grounds that the relevant statute, does not expressly criminalize the passive bodily processes that results in a mother's use of a drug entering her unborn, or newborn child's system.45. This conclusion should not be a surprise, given that appellate decisions are based on interpretation of law, not facts. In contrast, state legislatures could choose to preclude attempted efforts at prosecution with amendments that make explicit that existing laws are not meant to apply to prenatal conduct that may affect fetuses. The substances related to the charges included cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, and prescription pills. A newborn infant's death nearly 15 years ago is still causing a fierce legislative battle in Arizona and other states around the country. It often relies on caseworker-confirmed reports of child maltreatment, despite thewell-documentedpropensity of caseworkers and family courts to base findings of child neglect on evidence of drug use alone. Fetal or infant toxicology was reported in 24 of the pregnancies, and included positive findings for cocaine (n = 13), heroin (n = 1), and methamphetamine (n = 8) and one case wherein testing was negative for the relevant drug oxycodone, but the infant nonetheless displayed signs of withdrawal.31. Community after community has seen this in the aftermath oflocal crackdownson drug-using pregnant womenfewer women seek prenatal care and substance use treatment, even after the local authorities decide to change course. Prosecutors have attempted to rely on a host of criminal laws already on the books to attack prenatal substance use. To date, the United States Supreme Court has declined to hear cases that raise questions about the constitutionality of such laws. donate today. Such information can assist in making diagnosis of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), as well as help clinicians focus the plan for treatment and follow-up for the neonates. This helps clinicians better understand the prevalence of marijuana use as they care for their pregnant patients and provide screening and treatment. For example, pregnant women should drink less than 1 liter (about 3 cans) of diet soda per day. These same legislators would be hard-pressed to take babies away from mothers who were struggling with medical treatment for hypertension or diabetes. In 2018, an estimated 12% of U.S. residents 18 years or older reported current unhealthy drug use in a national survey. Good reproductive health policy starts with credible research. In other instances, where medical expertise was referenced, it did not necessarily support the defendants' position. This claim disregards the fact that drug addiction is ahealth issuewith biological, behavioral, and genetic dimensions, and similar to other health conditions, itdoes not respond wellto artificially imposed treatment timelines or mandated treatment. In three of the cases in which medical expert testimony was referenced, the expert testimony was contradictory. *The Alabama Supreme Court held that drug use while pregnant is considered chemical endangerment of a child. Rapidly detecting fetal exposure to licit and illicit drugs is of considerable medical value. 2023 Guttmacher Institute. Prenatal drug exposure may also contribute to long-term behavioral effects and developmental deficits. Prosecuting Women for Drug Use During Pregnancy: The Criminal Justice System Should Step Out and the Affordable Care Act Should Step Up. Quitting early or before pregnancy is best, but its never too late to quit smoking. The Maternal Substance Abuse and ChildDevelopment (MSACD) Project focuses on theprevention of negative consequences of a maternalsubstance use through a variety of services. Comparisons of drug laws to alcohol laws show that the policy trajectories started in opposite directions, but by 2016, the results were the same: Punitive policies were more prevalent than supportive policies across states. 10 states prohibit publicly funded drug treatment programs from discriminating against pregnant people. Fetal Assault Laws. The vast majority ofTemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding, or federal welfare dollars meant to help the poor, is not spent on assistance to poor families, but rather on placing and keeping children in the foster care system. You can also call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) for free support. The survey also notes that if prenatal drug use is suspected, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin require health professionals to report it while Indiana requires pregnant women to be tested; Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota require both. In Alabama and South Carolina, the majority of state supreme court judges determined that the plain meaning of the word child includes a fetus, or in their term, an unborn child.16,,18 In the other 17 states that considered the question, the opposite conclusion was reached: that is, a fetus is not a child in the eyes of the law in those jurisdictions. Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development Project | Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities For access to services and immediate crisis help, call the Georgia Crisis & Access Line (GCAL) at 1-800-715-4225, available 24/7. And in order to receive federal child abuse prevention funds, states must require health care providers to notify child protective services when the provider cares for an infant affected by illegal substance use. The underlying legal question considered in the judicial decisions in these cases is whether, for the purpose of adjudicating the criminal charges, a fetus is a child. Despite the opposition of medical and public health professionals, several state legislatures are considering laws that permit child abuse charges for substance use during pregnancy. Establishes requirements for health care providers to encourage and facilitate drug counseling. In Johnson v. State, the defendant was charged and convicted of two counts of delivery of a controlled substance to a minor via the umbilical cord after she reported to the treating obstetrician that she had smoked marijuana and crack cocaine the day she went into labor. A drug possession conviction in Georgia also results in the suspension of your driver's license. Opioids are a class of drugs used to manage pain, but also have serious risks, such as addiction. Collaborations have included media messages on maternal substance abuse during pregnancy and supplying resources addressing the use of any substance. Narcotics Anonymous World Service Office in Los Angeles PO Box 9999 Van Nuys, California 91409 Telephone: (818) 773-9999 Fax: (818) 700-0700 Web site: www.na.org Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. Federal drug laws exist to control the use, manufacturing, possession, and distribution of various drugs that are legal and illegal. Tobacco and alcohol are the most commonly abused substances, followed by marijuana and cocaine. Using drugs while pregnant and addiction is a grave concern because it puts two lives at risk. Arizona now has one of the highest foster care placement rates in the nation. Supporters of these laws justify the surveillance, policing, and punishment of drug-using mothers by referencing two assumptions that were touted and then discredited during and after thecrack baby scare. For example, the Maryland state law that permits manslaughter or murder charges if a person kills a viable fetus has an exception that does not permit a woman to be charged with manslaughter for actions that led to the death of her own viable fetus. Opioid use during pregnancy can affect women and their babies. Neonatal abstinence syndrome . No adverse neonatal outcomes were reported in 41 percent of the pregnancies in this study. Reyes was charged with two counts of felony child endangerment for her heroin use If you or someone close to you needs help for a substance use disorder, talk to your healthcare provider or call SAMHSAs National Helpline at1-800-662-HELP. In three states Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin women who use drugs during pregnancy can be involuntarily committed to a treatment program. The city of Savannah decriminalized the possession of marijuana, effective July 1, 2018. CDC twenty four seven. We reviewed legal decisions regarding women charged with a crime against a fetus or child as a result of substance use during pregnancy. Subscribe to our newsletters for regular updates, analysis and context straight to your email. Drug addiction is a serious problem, especially when the drug addict is pregnant. Theresearchis also clear that the results of a drug test alone are not an appropriate proxy for determining parental fitness. Katie Jane Fernelius Second, they claim that drug use during pregnancy is a reliable indicator of parental unfitness. LEXIS 970 (Tenn. Crim. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.