The Importance Of Hospital Births In Prisons

When women conceive a baby, immediately, thousands of responsibilities are placed in her hands. Whether you want to have a human being to take care of or not, you will, with no other choice. Say, a women becomes pregnant and truthfully cannot afford a child, that situation does not matter. If living on the streets is necessary, then she should take the initiative and do so. If drugs are merely

The concern is not being placed on the woman, but rather on the result of her biological process: her “baby”, with its potential to be born “normal”, if only the circumstances of its mother are controlled to allow for the possibility of normalcy. Recently, an addicted woman in New York, who had engaged in sex work in the past was told by a family court judge “not to get pregnant again until she has gained custody of her son”. This case adds to the legitimacy to Knight’s writing and highlights the continued need for addressing addicted pregnant women (FOX News, 2017; Weed, 2017). This particular case is addressed in a very different manner by two news publications. FOX News, a conservative news source, focuses on the previous children of this woman, describing how her drug use during pregnancy lead to the children being born addicted to drugs (FOX News, 2017). CNN, a more “liberal” news sources chose to focus on how ordering someone not to have children is a violation of their human rights (Weed, 2017). Yet neither article addresses the lack of concrete help for the sake of the addicted

While both Methadone and Suboxone Treatment have both proven to be very successful in helping the admitted opiate addicts achieve recovery, having the option of Methadone treatment available to the addicted pregnant Mothers, gives them the choice to bring a healthy baby into this world. It is a choice that is only safe with Methadone treatment and not with Suboxne. This is a choice addicted woman did not have before Methadone, and will not have again, should they remove Methadone from the market. And although the community thinks having the clinics brings crime into the neighborhood, they need to consider that every day when the 600

Drug and alcohol addictions are illnesses that require some type of effective treatment to overcome them. I believe that women don’t intentionally expose their fetuses to drug or alcohol abuse, but if it happens, I believe the problem needs to be identified and addressed immediately because obviously there is a problem. In my opinion, I believe that women should be punished for exposing their fetuses to drug and alcohol abuse. The fetuses are innocent and shouldn’t have to suffer on the ignorance of their mother. I think that treatment should be offered and monitored frequently. If the program is not followed by the pregnant woman, then she should not be allowed the opportunity to raise the child until she has proven that she will provide a

Tennessee passed a new law that any pregnant women who has been found using narcotics during pregnancy or if the baby is born being addicted to the drug will be arrested. Tennessee is the first state to allow this type of criminal law to go into place. Tennessee law allowed police to arrest women who used drugs when they were pregnant, but this approach never worked (Perez, 2014). Tennesee has a staggering infant mortality rate which ranks among 3rd in the nation (Sakuma, 2013). In 2013, Tennesee lawmakers actually sought to encourage mothers to get treatment under the Safe Harbor Act. The act let mothers get the help they need for the addiction, but they were promised they would not lose custody of their baby so long as they were seeking treatment (Sakuma, 2014). The new law permits moms to avoid prosecution if they can successfully complete their drug rehabilitation program (Sakuma,

The American Medical Association and other leading medical groups have concluded that drugs and alcohol addictions are diseases that should be treated not punished. Federal and states experts have concluded that there is no evidence that the threat of jail succeeds in reducing drug use and improve birth outcomes. Instead, there is evidence that it frightens women away from prenatal care and drug treatment that can be helpful for these women and their future babies.

Since the 1980’s, debate about how society should deal with the problem of criminalizing pregnant women who abuse drugs or alcohol has become a nationwide issue. Many states argue that the primary concern is making sure women have healthy pregnancies and healthy children. However, policies that threaten women with criminal prosecution and the potential loss of parental rights drive women away from pregnancy-related care. Constitutionally, enacting states to create these laws is unsound and places women in situations of risk. Less than a week ago a bill was sent to the governor of Tennessee after being approved by both the house and the senate, that would allow for women to be prosecuted if she takes an illegal drugs while pregnant. Although this bill is made to seem like it is promoting healthy pregnancies, many groups are urging the governor to veto it.

“Every 25 minutes, 1 baby is born suffering from opiate withdrawal. Newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) are more likely than other babies to also have low birth weight and respiratory complications” (Dramatic Increases in Maternal Opioid Use and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, 2015, Paragraph 2). To insure a better life for these babies, people are trying to create an Act called the Plan of Safe Care Improvement or otherwise known as the Infant Plan of Safe Care Improvement. This Act is meant to protect future babies from not only being born drug dependent because of their mothers, but also ensuring them a drug-free environment after birth. It will also “get help for the mothers and any other guardians involved in drug addiction”

While legislators believe that this policy will effectively sort out the “worst of the worst” (Gonzales & DuBois, 2014), this reporter doubts the efficiency and utility of the policy. If the aim is to force mothers into treatment, then perhaps sending them to jail is not the most effective method. Those defending the law have sent mixed messages around how it should be carried out, some describing the law as a “velvet hammer” while others employ it as a strong-arm tactic used to bust women who use narcotics (Beyerstein, 2014; Goldensohn & Levy, 2014). This, in addition to the previous legislation protecting mothers, makes it uncertain how a woman will be received when she reveals her substance use. Likewise, the chances of getting arrested

The rationality of those who support the punishment of addicted mothers focus on the idea that maternal conduct could lead to potential detrimental effects upon the fetus and that prosecution of such behavior would serve as both retribution for the fetus and as a deterrent. Whereas those who advocate for the pregnant women view this rational as not only impermissible but also unconstitutional as in current legal standing the fetus has no rights that usurp those of the pregnant woman (Stone-Manista, 2009, pp.823-856). Advocates also suggests that the breadth of forces that lead to drug use in pregnant women have a prevalent cultural and social foundation that the proponents for deterrence and retribution ignore in favor of strict scrutiny. This conflict between women’s rights and fetal rights has caused a paradigm in the prosecution of pregnant drug users as the interpretation of criminal sanctions argues over the definition of ‘child’ as encompassing fetuses in the definition would then lay the foundation for punishment for a woman’s conduct during pregnancy (Stone-Magnets, 2009, pp.823-856). Though currently it is unconstitutional and legally impermissible to prosecute women with state child abuse statutes in regards to drug use during pregnancy; advocates of fetal rights continue to follow

Healthcare is a big topic no matter how you view it, but when looking at it from the point of a person who is in prison, it takes on a whole new view. Those who are in prison have federal and state laws that say that the prisons must provide them with medical facilities for their healthcare needs. This paper will identify a governmental agency that regulates the healthcare that is provided to prisoners in an institution within the United States, along with the foundation of such an agency and who regulates the licenses, accreditation, certifications, and authorization for employment for those who work within one of these

Many women, including teens, abuse drugs while they are pregnant. This rate is especially high to those who are homeless, underprivileged, or live in a broken home. In order for drug abusers to even have a chance at beating their addiction they have to have support whether it’s family, friends, or boyfriend/spouse. They must also let the abuser now all the consequences to themselves and the unborn child. There are many consequences when using drugs during pregnancy such as miscarriage, health risks to baby, and health risks to the mother. And learning disabilities and brain damage to the fetus.

The use of heroin, cocaine, and other illicit drugs has become a public health concern especially during pregnancy. Maternal substance abuse has become an issue during the crack epidemic in the 1980’s; however, there is an alarm rate of infants born addicted to heroin. More than 3.7% women have indicated the uses some form of illicit drugs during their pregnancy, as well as 1.9 % reports binge drinking (Bhuvaneswar el at., 2008; Grant el at., 2009). With this in mind, more than 375,000 infants are born to maternal substance abusers each year costing over $100,000 in medical expenses covered by the state (Reitman, 2002).

In today’s society people are talking about babies being born to drugs, and how could a mother do that to their unborn child. Drug addiction is a very serious issue that needs more research. We are still learning the effects of substance abuse. One problem that needs to be looked at is are there enough Rehabilitation Centers, to help the women who are addicted to these different street drugs. Also doctor and nurses should not judge these women but instead give them the best prenatal care that can be provided. We need to see what harm and side affects it has on the mother and baby, so that we can be able to understand better how to treat these women and get them off drugs before they do harm their babies.

A lot of people talk about someone before they get sentenced to prison, but do not ask about what goes on while they serve time for their actions. Criminals rights are basically revoked during their sentencing and not given back after. Whether it is the way they are treated by prison officials, voting while in jail or when they get let free, and the way they are treated for the religion they follow. They are overlooked by people who have right just because they are locked up and serving time.