Consider the sign held during a protest of Whitner v. South Carolina reading, "Pregnancy is not a crime. Addiction is not a crime." South Carolina is in the minority of states that considers substance abuse during pregnancy a form of criminal child abuse once the fetus is viable. Instead, many states instead have civil laws to address prenatal substance abuse and maternal substance abuse that affects infants. In many states, for example, if a obstetrician has evidence that a pregnant woman is engaging in habitual substance abuse, or evidence once the infant is born (e.g. the infant is in withdrawal), then state law specifies that the physician either may or must report the mother to Child Protective Services (CPS) to begin an investigation and refer the mother for treatment options. In some cases, CPS intervenes, the mother enrolls in treatment, but continues to engage in drug abuse.

The Case of Samantha Jones: In 2018, a nursing mother in Pennsylvania made national headlines when her infant, Remington, died from ingesting a combination of fatal drugs through her breastmilk. According to the coroner's report, Remington died from a combination of methadone, methamphetamine, and amphetamine toxicity. The Bucks County District Attorney charged the mother, Samantha Jones, who also has a two-year old child, with criminal homicide. According to published reports, Jones was undergoing Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) and receiving doses of methadone to treat her addiction to opioid painkillers. Multiple commentators swiftly voiced opposition to the District Attorney, decrying the criminal charges against Jones, arguing it is "highly problematic" to levy criminal charges against a person undergoing treatment for Substance Use Disorder. Approximately one year prior to Remington's death, law enforcement found Jones - who was pregnant with Remington at the time - passed out in her vehicle with her other child in the backseat. During that incident, police charged Jones with endangering the welfare of a child and driving under the influence (DUI). At that time, Jones was similarly intoxicated under the influence of methadone, methamphetamine, amphetamine, and the antianxiety medication Clonazepam. According to media reports, the court dropped part of the charges and sentenced Jones to a period of house arrest with an order to continue drug treatment (she was already enrolled in drug treatment.) This case represents broader questions woven in into treating pregnant and parenting patients with SUD: Is the criminal justice system merely punishing people for addiction? Who should be held accountable for such tragic outcomes against the most vulnerable members of society - infants and children? Do people with addiction retain any choice over their actions? And lastly, what is the significance that Jones continued to engage in polysubstance abuse despite receiving Medication Assisted Treatment?

State laws should require reporting the mother to CPS if the physician has evidence that she is engaging in habitual substance abuse. If she does not discontinue substance abuse, or enroll in treatment, the law could facilitate a civil commitment procedure. Or, alternatively, if she refuses or leaves treatment, she could face criminal charges. (Generally, drug court mandates treatment by law instead of incarcerating minor offenders.)

i agree with the points raised in the position? Why? Or, advocate for a different standard. Explain your reasoning.

This post should should be about 350-500 words in length. You will be graded on organization of the answer, integration of the week's readings (including relevant legal terminology), and your ability to coherently articulate a position. Please use paragraphs, spacing, and punctuation, bold terms, underlined terms, etc. to make your answer clear and easy to read.I encourage responding to your classmates' posts and creating conversations around each topic while being mindful of professional netiquette.

here is an example of typical answer that i need the same level : I am in full support of Position 1's statement that state laws should require medical providers to report a mother with habitual substance abuse to Child Protective Services (CPS).After CPS contacts the mother, she will be advised to discontinue substance abuse and enroll in a drug treatment program. If she does not comply, the case will be reviewed for a civil commitment procedure.

The United States is facing a public health epidemic of overdose deaths due to fentanyl and other substances of abuse. Women and mothers that abuse drugs are more likely to face domestic partner violence, poverty, sex-work violence, discrimination, and government structural prosecution (Boyd et al, 2022). With multiple factors that create a climate of marginalization, stigma and fear, mothers suffering from drug addiction must have a governmental system of identifying the problem, the causes of addiction, treatment, safety for the children, and long-term services. The points of Position 1 include the physician identifying the mother's substance abuse problem, notifying CPS to require drug rehabilitation for the mother, finding a safe environment for the children, and the government will provide legal consequences for non-compliance.

Opponents may say that criminalization of mothers with substance abuse challenges will make the problem worse. Mothers will fear legal action, child custody loss and social stigma and will be less likely to seek intervention, treatment and harm-reduction services (Allyn, 2018). Also, the legal system has become problematic for punishing those working through addiction as addressed in Eldred v. Massachusetts and Whitner v. South Carolina (Petrie-Flom Center, 2018). These are important points to consider for the mother. At the same time, it is important to recognize the children that are living in environments where their physical, mental and emotional safety are at great risk. In general, mothers are not able to manage their substance abuse issues and care for children at the same time. Mothers with substance abuse will require intensive treatment services with counseling, medication and a team of professionals over a period of weeks, months or longer.

Individuals are expected to abide by the laws and, in our society, mothers are held to a higher standard of conduct. If a mother that is abusing substances is not capable of caring for herself and her children, she will face societal and legal consequences. The civil commitment procedure should be the last option after all other options are exhausted. Generally speaking, if a physician suspects drug abuse, the mother and children should be investigated by CPS. If drug abuse is confirmed, CPS should refer the mother to immediate drug abuse treatment while the children are placed in a safe home environment. The children should be returned to the mother after she is recovered. The mother, if she refuses help, should not be in the position to harm herself or her children and should be subject to legal action. In summary, Position 1 made a correct assessment of how to protect children and mothers with drug addiction.

References

Allyn, B. (2018, September 17). Bucks prosecution of nursing mom in baby's death triggers alarm on addiction treatment. WHYY. https://whyy.org/articles/bucks-prosecution-of-nursing-mom-in-babys-death-triggers-alarm-on-addiction-treatment/

Boyd, J., Maher, L., Austin, T., Lavalley, J., Kerr, T., & McNeil, R. (2022). Mothers Who Use Drugs: Closing the Gaps in Harm Reduction Response Amidst the Dual Epidemics of Overdose and Violence in a Canadian Urban Setting. American journal of public health, 112(S2), S191-S198. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306776Links to an external site.

Petrie-Flom Center. (2018, November 15). Toxic breastmilk: When substance abuse relapse means death for baby - Bill of Health. Bill of Health - The blog of the Petrie-Flom Center at Harvard Law School. https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2018/11/15/toxic-breastmilk-when-substance-abuse-relapse-means-death-for-baby/.