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Bluelight Crew
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama appeals court has ruled that a law designed to crack down on parents who expose children to methamphetamine labs can also be used to prosecute women who take illegal drugs during their pregnancies
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals said the general term "child" in Alabama's chemical endangerment law is broad enough to encompass a "viable fetus." The court said its ruling is the first to address the prosecutions of new mothers that have been brought by district attorneys across the state.
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said Thursday the ruling means "the court has affirmed the value of life, including the lives of unborn children who are, after all, among the most vulnerable members of our society."
Prosecutors say they have brought cases to discourage illegal drug use by pregnant women and keep unborn children safe. Organizations that have filed briefs in some of the cases, including the American Public Health Association and National Association of Social Workers, say it is bad public policy.
Howell said the law has caused some pregnant women with drug problems to go out of state to have their babies or avoid prenatal care for fear of being prosecuted, and she predicts that will increase.
"If the goal is to protect life — born and unborn — this is doing the opposite," she said.
In 2006, the Legislature sought to crack down on parents who operate methamphetamine labs in their homes and expose children to dangerous chemicals. Lawmakers enacted a chemical endangerment law that makes it a crime, punishable by one to 10 years in prison, to expose a child to illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia. The maximum sentence increases to 20 years for injuring a child and life in prison for the death of a child.
District attorneys began using the law to prosecute women who gave birth to babies that testified positive for illegal drugs because mothers used drugs during pregnancy. Several women challenged the law, saying "child" doesn't include a fetus. In an appeal involving 29-year-old Hope Elizabeth Ankrom of Enterprise, the appeals court agreed with the attorney general's argument that the law applies to a woman's drug use during pregnancy.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Court-Exposing-fetus-to-illegal-drugs-is-crime-2152818.php
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals said the general term "child" in Alabama's chemical endangerment law is broad enough to encompass a "viable fetus." The court said its ruling is the first to address the prosecutions of new mothers that have been brought by district attorneys across the state.
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said Thursday the ruling means "the court has affirmed the value of life, including the lives of unborn children who are, after all, among the most vulnerable members of our society."
Prosecutors say they have brought cases to discourage illegal drug use by pregnant women and keep unborn children safe. Organizations that have filed briefs in some of the cases, including the American Public Health Association and National Association of Social Workers, say it is bad public policy.
Howell said the law has caused some pregnant women with drug problems to go out of state to have their babies or avoid prenatal care for fear of being prosecuted, and she predicts that will increase.
"If the goal is to protect life — born and unborn — this is doing the opposite," she said.
In 2006, the Legislature sought to crack down on parents who operate methamphetamine labs in their homes and expose children to dangerous chemicals. Lawmakers enacted a chemical endangerment law that makes it a crime, punishable by one to 10 years in prison, to expose a child to illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia. The maximum sentence increases to 20 years for injuring a child and life in prison for the death of a child.
District attorneys began using the law to prosecute women who gave birth to babies that testified positive for illegal drugs because mothers used drugs during pregnancy. Several women challenged the law, saying "child" doesn't include a fetus. In an appeal involving 29-year-old Hope Elizabeth Ankrom of Enterprise, the appeals court agreed with the attorney general's argument that the law applies to a woman's drug use during pregnancy.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Court-Exposing-fetus-to-illegal-drugs-is-crime-2152818.php
