Controversial law puts some new mothers in jail

[flashl]

Source: Birmingham News

New Alabama law that puts some new mothers in jail, causing controversy

Shekelia T. Ward gave birth Jan. 8 at Andalusia Regional Hospital, and the next day she was arrested, jailed and charged with chemical endangerment of a child, a felony.

The reason: Ward and her newborn both tested positive for cocaine, and the hospital reported the information to authorities as evidence of possible child abuse.

Ward's experience is the product of a new law that has some prosecutors, particularly in southeast Alabama, arresting new mothers who test positive for illicit drugs. The prosecutors began filing these charges after the state Legislature in 2006 made it illegal to "chemically endanger" a child.

The new law and how it is being applied is raising a multitude of legal, ethical and medical issues.

Birmingham News

Read more: http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/120298055632310.xml&coll=2

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Another example of prosecutorial discretion gone awok. The originally law proposed "to prosecute parents who exposed children to toxins associated with methamphetamine production, and has no mention of pregnant women or their babies".

[zanne]

1. And they want to prevent abortions?

Way to go,Alabama. :sarcasm: I'd say that if a womam is addicted to cocaine in Alabama, any pregnancy will be aborted now rather than go through a jail term for carrying and delivering the baby.

[woodsprite]

2. It's mandatory in Delaware, if you have a 'precipitous' birth, to take

an immediate blood test of the Mom.

I went into early labor (34 wks) with my son. Labor was halted using mag sulfate. I was on the drip for almost a week, then went home because I seemed stable. Went into labor the next morning, delivered within 4 hours. I asked them why they were taking blood from me and they said it was a requirement since my labor was questionable. Needless to say, I was a bit pissed. I had been on heparin and baby aspirin and needed a trip to the OR for some internal cleanup and sutering inorder to stop it, but they got their vial of blood first.

[Iris]

7. I guess we an all look forward to this when Roe v Wade is overturned and every fertilized egg is

considered a human life.

[zbdent]

11. but when the "termination" of the pregnancy is due to some deregulated hotdog

poisoning the fetus, with documentation of the corporate culpability ... it will be "Too bad. You should have known not to eat a hot dog from X. Next!"

[Iris]

31. bingo.

But it's always easiest to blame the mother for everything.

[midnight]

41. Perfect articulation about this bizarre response of our govt. into

militarizing our medical lives.

[Kittycat]

3. You know what. I agree with this.

I have a cousin, brother and a another cousin all by the same mom (older two were adopted out, after a lengthy DCFS battle). The first had coke in his system at birth. For 6mo, we watched him go through withdraws and various other problems as a result (FTT, Attachment disorders, etc). My brother, FAS - and she also was rushed to the ER at 5.5mo after taking several hits of speed and downing a 5th of jack - her regular regiment. The 3rd boy, no one was able to get away from her. He's now in a home, after being subjected to sexual abuse and god only knows what else. When he was 9yo, DCFS showed up on my parents door saying take him, or he goes to a state home. After 2.5years they couldn't manage him anymore, and he had to go.

If the mother makes the decision to continue with the pregnancy, I feel she has every obligation to not cause serious harm by taking illegal substances or drinking in excess (I'd prefer no drinking, but apparently the jury is still out on that one).

[flashl]

4. If it is about the child why act after pregancy?

This prosecutor selectively charges new mothers without authority of law. How will placing this mother in jail under a bond set at $250,000 satisfy protecting the child?

In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that a Charleston, S.C., hospital had violated the rights of new mothers by testing them for illicit drugs and turning the information over to prosecutors. Thus, the hospital and staff members left themselves open to lawsuits, the court ruled.

...

The Supreme Court said hospital workers have a duty to report possible child abuse, but they can go too far by becoming extensions of law enforcement, even if it is being done to coerce women into drug treatment.

"The court reasoned that, when physicians are acting at the behest of the state to collect evidence, they have a special obligation to inform their patients of their constitutional rights," according to an analysis of the case published in the January issue of Virtual Mentor, American Medical Association Journal of Ethics. "The court acknowledged that the invasion of patient privacy in this case was severe due to the deceit involved in the testing and the unauthorized dissemination of confidential medical information to the third party."

Allowing one group's medical privacy to be violated opens the door to violations of everyone's medical information.

[Iris]

8. well, in the 90s a few places wanted to jail pregnant women suspected of taking drugs

so I guess they could go back to that idea.

[Winterblues]

9. How about smoking? It has been proved smoking is more harmful than cocaine

:shrug: If the baby tests positive for nicotine should the mother go to jail?

[Horse with no Name]

10. Newborn babies addicted to nicotine cry and cry and cry

Very hard to comfort. They are so irritable.
However, I prefer that money be spent on education programs--not incarceration.

[dropkickpa]

26. I smoked when pregnant

Dropkid was a wonderfully happy and content baby.

[Horse with no Name]

27. I bet if you ask the nurses in the nursery

He wasn't until the 48th hour of life when the nicotine had completely cleared out of his system and he wasn't craving a cigarette.

[dropkickpa]

35. She roomed in with me, never went to the nursery

So yes, she was that way the whole time.

[Horse with no Name]

42. Then she is DEFINITELY the exception

Congratulations.

[sandnsea]

36. 287 contaminants in umbilical cords

There is no way to know what affects these babies. Somebody needs to arrest the manufacturers of these pollutants.

[Metta]

5. Uh, let me guess. She's black.

I don't know how that thought came into my mind.

[Iris]

6. I thought this shit died down.

In fact, I thought they discovered that so-called crack-babies were not completely ruined and that epidemic had been overblown.

Yea. I'll bet she's black, too.

http://stats.org/stories/the_media_crack_baby_aug10_05.htm

[seriousstan]

19. Well, so long as they are "not completely ruined" then I guess I am OK with smoking crack while preg

[Iris]

30. what seemed to do them the most harm is being labeled "crack baby"

more than anything else.

[RayOfHope]

12. I wonder if this will deter these mothers from birthing in a hospital

that would not be a good outcome.

[TexasLawyer]

14. You bet it would

also it will increase abortions. Women with cocaine problems who want to avoid jail will terminate their pregnancies rather than face arrest and incarceration.

[joeglow3]

28. Isn't that what abortion is for?

For mother's who are incapable of dealing with the reponsibilities of parenting. If a prospective parent can't get off the crack while pregnant, what makes you think they will be a good parent?

[pitohui]

46. where do you go to get an abortion in alabama? is there even one provider?

when abortion is available and affordable (preferably free) to every woman in alabama, mississippi, and louisiana, not just to a few who can travel to jackson, mississippi then tell me again about such laws

people don't seem to know what addiction is, by definition if you're an addict, you are compelled to keep drinking or keep using, it's out of your control, it's a disease, would you advocate jailing mothers for passing on any other genetic defect to their child?

when abortion is readily available to women with addiction or other reasons why they shouldn't be having babies, i'll be interested in such laws

but now it's just bullshit because i bet poor women, especially addicts, have no way to obtain abortions -- just a hunch based on the disappearance of providers from louisiana and mississippi

[newfie11]

13. SD Reservations

Someone should check out all the reservations in SD. Not only alcohol but meth, crack, and coke are all there and ramped. Many of the children suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome and worse as now the new drugs of choice have arrived. I once asked an older woman why they didn't report the meth users and was told the tribal police are some of the worse.

[Jed Dilligan]

15. Rampant incarceration for 30-some years has clearly solved all of

our nation's social problems, Let's Stay On Track!

[davsand]

16. Ummm, I think they are doing this in several places already.

My daughter turned ten last May, and they tested her blood at birth and my blood at my first OB appointment. I was absolutely livid when I saw my medical records (after firing the OB.) I found out they had done a tox screen and an HIV test on m without my knowledge or consent.

My new OB was really matter of fact about it. He told me it was required by law but that they told patients about it at least. He also told me that they would test the baby at birth and DCFS could potentially take the child if it was discovered to have been exposed to drugs.

To me, it wasn't about the tox screen--I knew full well I had not smoked pot or done any drugs--but it was the fact that they just DID it without my knowledge or consent. I kept asking "Did I surrender my civil rights when I got pregnant," and nobody could answer the question.

This is not new.

I'm sorry.


Laura

[flashl]

17. The reason for the controversy is it is not law in Alabama

The originally law proposed "to prosecute parents who exposed children to toxins associated with methamphetamine production, and has no mention of pregnant women or their babies".

[Zgrrl]

18. I was tested twice w/o my consent...

I just had a baby last month, and at my first OB appointment I had to fill out some paperwork and read a description of the various tests I would have as part of my prenatal care. I didn't want to have the HIV or drug screen...I know I am negative for both but fear of false positives and the invasion of privacy concerned me. So I opted out of both by clearly marking the box that said I did not consent to these tests (apparently they are not mandatory in my state).

Well, guess what? I was tested for drugs anyway. In about the 3rd or 4th month I got a statement from the lab listing the tests that had been done from a recent blood draw. I was charged several hundred dollars for a "Single class drug screen." I called the OB office and bitched, and they admitted it was their mistake and that I would not have to pay for the test. I asked them to purge the test and results from my medical record.

Then it happened again! In the 7th month or so, I got another statement from the lab showing that another drug screen had been done at a time when I had been told they were checking for something else. Again, I called the OB's office and they again apologized - profusely - and said I didn't have to pay, etc. I asked why this kept happening and why they were ignoring the fact that I had clearly checked the box NOT consenting to these tests. They said that normally when a patient checks those boxes, there is a notation made in that patient's file. There was no such notation made in my file - an "oversight," they said - so that's why I was screened twice. "But don't worry," they said. "There are no more blood tests scheduled for you so it can't happen again!"

I really wonder if it was an "oversight." Perhaps patients are made to believe they have opted out, but they do the tests anyway. Patients either won't notice, or if they do the office can always say it was an oversight.

[davsand]

22. Have you ever looked at your medical records?

I'll bet you that there is at least one nasty entry in your med records about your response to those tests. You "challenged" them and it gets noted in your chart.

I was supremely pissed at the notes I found in my med records from that original OB. They were trashing me in MY RECORDS because I asked what each test was for and why it was necessary. I have since learned that other women have had similar stories about OB/GYNS.

I don't usually get all up in a rant about a lot of stuff, but I will tell you that I felt like I was living in some freaking gulag when it came to my health care when I was pregnant.



Laura

[Iris]

39. what did they write exactly?

because I'm planning to be a "challenge" when I'm a pregnant woman and I kinda wanna know what they'll say about me.

[davsand]

40. I was "argumentative."

Literally, I was never allowed to see the doc I wanted--I was handed off to this other doc because "they" felt I was too argumentative to work with this other OB. Her reputation was excellent but I have to say her office staff did not impress me at all.

I was noted to be "challenging the Dr's Authority." I am struggling to remember the better ones, but for every trip I made in there I had a note in my file about how much of a problem child they thought I was. (I fired them in the First Trimester and I'd already been dragged in there five or six times for tests.)

I remember one trip where they made me do a fasting blood glucose test where you have to go in without having eaten and then drink this sugar solution. They drew blood every hour for something like three or four hours. It is a fairly standard test in the later stages of pregnancy, but they refused to tell me why they needed it at that early point in the pregnancy. The doc just told me to "do it if you care abut your baby."

I had morning sickness up to about my fifth month, and that particular day was no exception. I was sitting there gagging and they were screaming at me to sit still while they were trying to draw blood. I told them I was getting ready to throw up and they screamed some more telling me they would just make me come back and do it again. They missed the vein a few times and I finally lost it and vomited.

That particular trip had me labeled as "rebellious."

When I called the practice and told them they were fired and that I intended to pick up my records the next day, the doc called me at home and told me I was making a terrible mistake--that I needed someone like her to "manage" my case. I told her it was not up to her--she had been fired. Then she started saying that I was putting my baby at risk. She demanded the name of my new OB. I hung up on her.

The next morning I went to collect my records and they refused to hand them over to me because I was not a doctor. I explained to them that according to law they did have to hand them over and that they were allowed to charge a "reasonable" copying fee. Then I handed them a copy of the pertinent section of the compiled statutes. I walked out an hour later $15.00 poorer, but with my records in hand.

I made copies of every page and took one set to my new OB that afternoon. I had another copy in my hands while I talked to the new doc, I asked a lot of questions, and we never had a single problem with each other.


Laura

[Iris]

43. so your're a rebellious puker, eh?

My God. Do they think pregnant women have no brain - "Just do it if you care about your baby" indeed!

Thanks for sharing your story! Every one I hear like this gives me more courage.

[davsand]

44. Lord knows my stomach was in open rebellion.

The one thing I had terrible problems with the ENTIRE time I was pregnant was that I just could not deal with a large intake of anything. I'd graze on healthy stuff and everything went a lot better. Sweet stuff held no appeal at all, and that glucose solution is probably revolting enough that I am not sure I'd be able to keep it down even today.

I think a lot of what was going on with that whole situation was the fact that I want to understand and be an active part of my medical treatment. I feel it is MY body and I have a right to understand fully what is being done by my employees (remember--they ARE your employees even IF they don't like to phrase it that way) on my behalf. That particular set of docs did not share my same views and we were a poor fit for each other. (I think they were obnoxious as hell, but I'm trying real hard not to be too hateful about it since it is over ten years later.)

I learned a valuable lesson from all of it because I started shopping for Docs that are ok with discussing and explaining treatments and options with me. If they can't or won't take time to do that then they don't need to be working for/on me. We have a family practice doc now that not only gets it, but also says he WANTS patients that are involved in the process because usually we invest time and effort into our health.

Best of luck!


Laura

[Iris]

45. Thanks.

I'm not even pregnant right now, but I'm going to start researching ob/gyns now. It's good to hear that there are alternatives out there if you are just proactive enough.

I'm often dismayed at how uninterested most pregnant women I meet are in regards to what is going on with them. The only thing they are concerned about is getting an epidural as soon as they can once labor starts. Other than that, they just go along with whatever is done to them without question.

[LeftyMom]

33. That happened to me too

Not with drug screening, but with the HIV test, which I had declined for the perfectly reasonable reason that I'd had one a few months beforehand and hadn't done anything even slightly risky since (I tend to decline unneeded tests both to keep costs down and because I don't want to risk false positives.) My next appt my midwife was reading off my results and mentioned that I was HIV negative. I was pissed.

Same thing happened in hospital with some newborn procedures (eye goop, hep b shot) that I declined (I don't have any diseases, and my newborn son wasn't about to run out and have sex and inject drugs, so neither served any purpose.) They just did them anyhow! Fuckers.

[pitohui]

47. it sounds like they wanted the money for the unnecessary tests

wow, several hundred dollars for a blood test! sounds like a cash grab to me!

[Iris]

38. yeah. DEFACS doesn't have enough kids to deal with.

They gotta drum up more business this way?

disgusting

[Xithras]

20. Good.

It's the mothers choice to carry the child. If she chooses to carry it to term, she must keep it safe. I'm as horrified by the thought of a mother injecting drugs into her kid a week before it's born as I'd be a week after.

[pitohui]

48. how is it the mother's choice?

you act as if abortion is something that's freely available in the deep south, while i freely admit i don't know the situation in alabama and perchance there is a good cheap or free provider on every street corner there, in the area i'm familiar with (louisiana and mississippi) only one clinic remains that i know about and i don't think most addicts would have the ability to avail themselves of it

most ads in the phone book for abortion "services" are fake ads put there by the "christians," i say put a few of them in jail first and then tell me again about the mother's choice?

alabama residents, could you weigh in here?

[EFerrari]

21. Criminalizing addicts has worked SO WELL in the past! n/t

[GOPNotForMe]

23. Covered a similar case in law school.

It doesn't qualify as a "child" until it's born and once it's born, there can't be any in vitro transmission of the drugs anymore. Fundamental flaw, so they're just going to have to criminalize taking drugs when you're pregnant. Oh wait, it's already illegal to take drugs... Stupid law.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. What part of "it's an addiction, not a moral failing" don't they understand?

:grr:

[flashl]

25. Exactly. Send her to jail where she can really get a daily supply of drugs.

And, I am sure the aftercare from a pregnancy with the private prison health care provider is just what the doctor ordered.

Most jails are THE incubators of diseases plaguing most communities.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

29. These types of laws lead to more infant deaths.

If you give an addict the choice of incarceration and good medical care for the child. Or a home delivery and waiting until any drugs have left the babies system, guess which one many addicts will choose?

[Iris]

32. what's the mantra of capitalism?

"Well, it creates JOBS."

[Marrah_G]

34. Have you ever seen a crack baby?

I would suggest had you any contact with the end results of the parents actions you would think otherwise.

[Iris]

37. This myth was busted a long time ago.

Yes, the babies had problems, but the crack baby "epidemic" was widely misleading

Moreover, terms such as "crack baby” and "meth baby” are pejorative and not based in scientific research, said scientists, physicians and social workers who spoke at the "Women, Pregnancy and Drug Use: Medical Facts, Practical Responses and the Well-Being of Children and Families” seminar Wednesday afternoon at the Presbyterian Health Foundation Conference Center.


http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2007/11/ok_myth_of_crac.html


And this is just for starters. The idea the the bigger disservice to these children was in labeling them as "damaged beyond repair" has been around for years.