logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Prosecuting Expectant Mothers’ Substance Use: The Right-to-Life Connection

Gayle Nelson
October 14, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

justice-gavel

October 7, 2015; The Guardian

As the national fight over Planned Parenthood continues, a second, quieter battle is being waged in many state capitals and courts. This battle over “personhood” expands the rights of the fetus at the expense of the rights of pregnant women. When successful, the embryo or fetus’s “right to a healthy environment” surpasses the mother’s right of bodily autonomy, leading to convictions of pregnant women for crimes, including murder, for harm that may come to her fetus. Many experts agree these crimes deter women from seeking treatment and increase the possibility mothers and their babies will be exposed to precarious conditions.

On April 29, 2008, Amanda Kimbrough gave birth to her stillborn son, Timothy. He was born at 25 weeks, five days, and weighed a little more than two pounds, significantly larger than the average baby of that age. At the time of delivery via Cesarean, Timothy was blue and was not breathing. The obstetrician delivering the baby determined the death was due to the umbilical cord descending through the birth canal ahead of the fetus, cutting off blood flow. Amanda, a mother of two other children, was devastated. She described it as, “the worst thing I’ve ever been through.”

But instead of sending Amanda home to mourn with her family, the state of Alabama charged her with “chemical endangerment” of her fetus, a Class-A felony, equivalent to murder. Her prosecution became the first trial in the country for this distinct “crime.” The evidence to convict her stemmed from traces of methamphetamine found in her urine. At trial, the court denied her lawyer the opportunity to call an expert medical witness to testify that Amanda’s use and prior addiction to drugs was not the cause of her son’s stillbirth.

Her conviction was eventually affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court, the highest judicial panel in the state. In its precedential opinion, the majority ruled a pregnant woman can be held responsible for any harm she may have caused to her fetus at any time after it is conceived. The decision went beyond the precedent set by Roe v. Wade, creating rights for fetuses before viability. In his dissenting opinion, Chief Judge Chuck Malone wondered how the court would rule on a “woman who has conceived, but who is without knowledge that she is pregnant, and who thereafter has a glass of wine.”

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

Although the crime Amanda was convicted of, chemical endangerment, was developed to protect young children exposed to noxious fumes or explosions stemming from home meth labs, Alabama prosecutors began putting it to use it against pregnant women shortly after it was enacted in 2006. A recent article documenting an investigation by ProPublica and AL.com identified 1,800 arrests and at least 479 prosecutions of pregnant women under this statute.

Convicting pregnant women of hurting their fetus through the use of drugs is not a new phenomenon. According to the group National Advocates for Pregnant Women, at least 44 other states have punished pregnant women, mainly through repurposing other criminal statues, including child abuse and drug distribution and trafficking laws. These laws are used because specific laws creating “personhood” have been defeated in referendums multiple times, including in North Dakota and Colorado. (One narrowly passed in Tennessee.)

Hundreds of women have been prosecuted for diverse crimes, with some, like Amanda, garnering murder convictions. These prosecutions occur even as mothers deliver healthy babies. Many experts, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have spoken strongly in opposition to these prosecutions because they can scare women away from life-saving prenatal care and treatment.

The population of women in America’s prisons has grown 646 percent between 1980 and 2010, one-and-a-half times higher than the increase in the number of incarcerated men. And the large majority of these women are mothers who are the primary caregivers of their children, nearly three times the number of incarcerated fathers. A growing number of prisons are building sections for mothers to raise their infants. A midwife working in one of these prisons in the state of Washington has been raising awareness of this trend by taking pictures of the mothers and their babies.

But this trend may be on the wane. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that 67 percent of those surveyed believe government should emphasize treatment over prison for people using illegal drugs. In addition, the number of people who believe mandatory sentences should be eliminated increased from 47 percent in 2001 to 63 percent in 2014.—Gayle Nelson

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Gayle Nelson

Gayle Nelson, Esq is a leader responsible for raising millions of dollars for diverse nonprofit organizations. Since over three quarters of revenue flows from individuals, Gayle begins her work expanding organizational capacity by coaching leadership on development best practices and engaging new volunteers. In addition, she reaches out to major and younger donors planning exciting events and increasing visibility utilizing crowdfunding, social media tools, and traditional media outlets. With a strong network and knowledge of philanthropy, Gayle coaches organizations of various sizes on opportunities to increase revenue from Donor Advised Funds (DAF) and planned giving vehicles as well as public and private foundations. Additionally, she often writes proposals funding new programs and develops earned income revenue streams. As an attorney, Gayle is also an advocate, partnering with nonprofits to enhance their relationships with government leaders to pinpoint community need and promote agency services. And, to ensure activities lead to thriving organizations and long-term sustainable growth, Gayle utilizes her financial acumen to partner with Boards and finance staff to build comprehensive program and agency budgets. Finally, she is a highly respected speaker on diverse topics including shifting government funding, succession planning, and inter-generational board/volunteer engagement.

More about: drug rehabilitationNonprofit NewsPolicyPrison AbolitionWomen’s Rights

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of Housing Insecurity for Black Women
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn
Philanthropy Must Challenge Our Punishment Paradigm—and End Solitary Confinement
Andrea Fionda and Scott Moyer
The Human Impact of the Global Refugee Crisis Must Be Understood—And Acted Upon
Anmol Irfan
Black Americans Need Reparations: The Fight for the CTC Highlights the Roadblocks
Jhumpa Bhattacharya and Trevor Smith

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
Cancelling Student Debt Is Necessary for Racial Justice
Kitana Ananda
To Save Legal Aid, Expand Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Zoë Polk
No Justice, No Peace of Mind and Body: The Health Impacts of...
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, Maile Chand and Andrea Flynn

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.