Should a Pregnant Woman Be Punished for Exposing Her Fetus to Risk?

HS:542 Week 3 Assignment

Should a Pregnant Woman Be Punished for Exposing Her Fetus to Risk?

There seems to be a lot of questions regarding whether or not a pregnant woman who exposes her baby to an illegal substance during her pregnancy should be charged with criminal negligence. This topic is definitely an intricate subject to debate and has yet to be properly addressed throughout the U.S. Simply knowing that the use of an illegal substance could possibly cause harm to the mother as well as the unborn child it is still occurring which raises a lot of questions.

As a health care administrator, I would be concerned with the idea that punishing the pregnant mother could possibly send a message to the other pregnant women who abuse drugs during their pregnancy. Doing so could also scare drug abusing pregnant women and/or may cause one' to feel forced to take other action upon themselves, such as an abortion in a way that isn't legal that may cause harm to both the mother and the unborn child. When it comes to illnesses such Down's syndrome, knowing that there is a medically proven risk, we do not punish women for making such a choice yet we choose to punish a mother who is an addict for exposing the fetus to the substance which often raises question as well. Another possible argument is when there is attempts to compare to the use of illegal drugs while pregnant to the risk of the decision to carry seven fetuses to term can be made, in terms of level of risk.

South Carolina is one state that has actually been on the forefront of the issue regarding whether or not pregnant women should be punished for exposing her fetus to risk. In 1997 the Supreme Court in South Carolina, the case Whitner vs. South Carolina decided that pregnant women who exposed their viable fetuses may be persecuted under the state child abuse laws (Paltrow, 1999). Since this has come about, both Arizona and Florida are following the same laws. Some might disagree but in South Carolina, the Medical University of South Carolina Hospital regularly test the urine of pregnant women for drugs without their consent which has caused issues as some complain that it is violating the privacy of women (Sealey, 1999).

One question that often arises is how medical experts cannot conclude with assurance that using an illegal substance during any part of the pregnancy will automatically guarantee negative outcome for the fetus. Determining the degree of harm can change when dealing with a legally prescribed drug that may possibly have greater negative effects than an illegal substance in which is not known whether negative effects are certain.

A mother who uses drugs during her pregnancy risks not only her own life but her baby's life as well. Studies have shown that consumption of illegal drugs during pregnancy can result in miscarriage, low birth weight,