Should Pregnant Women Use Drugs

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Shannon Green Psychology of drug abuse Opinion paper 4 Should pregnant drug users be prosecuted? Pregnant drug users should not be prosecuted. Carolyn Carter argues that the reason they should not be prosecuted because “the prosecution of pregnant drug users is unfair because poor women are more likely to be the targets of such prosecution. To enable pregnant women who use drugs to receive perinatal care, it is necessary to define their drug use as a health problem rather than as a legal problem.” I agree 100 % with the entire quote. I can identify with this topic because at 18 years old my younger cousin was on drugs and pregnant and was sent to jail all at the same time. It was thought that while in jail she could get her self together not only for the child but for her sake also. She had the baby in jail and gave custody over to her parents. She got out of jail missing a year of her child’s life. This was in 2006 now in 2010 she is back in jail on drug related problems so what in the long run did the jail sentence prove what situation did it help? None at all. Most people I talked with on this topic said that they should be locked up, and when I asked why they said “to teach them a lesson and if they are in they are in a healthier environment”. My response was how are they in a safer environment. Prison is a very stressful environment. That’s the type of place that a pregnant person should avoid. Instead of prosecuting the women and trying to place her in jail why not place her into a drug treatment facility where they specialize in the treatment and detoxification of pregnant women. A place where they can be safe and the baby in the womb and her can get the special treatment where they have a higher chance of surviving. A lot of times we place the sole blame on the pregnant woman who takes these drugs but what about the people who supply them with

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