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South
Carolina
Supreme
Court
Upholds
Eight
Year
Prison
Sentence
for
Woman
Whose
Baby
was
Born
with
Drugs
in
System
11/7/97
This week, South Carolina became the first US state to allow the prosecution
and imprisonment of mothers whose newborns test positive for drugs, an
indication that the mother used these substances during her pregnancy.
The case involved Cornelia Whitner, who pled guilty to child neglect in
1992 based on the results of a drug test performed on her baby. Ms. Whitner
was sentenced to eight years in prison.
The decision of the court discussed, among other things, the "effects
of cocaine" on prenatal development, despite the fact that even the
authors of the original "crack baby" report have since recanted
their findings, saying that their research, in fact, could find virtually
no differences in the health of such children when other factors such as
poverty and pre-natal care, were factored in.
As with so many "get tough" responses to the problems of substance
abuse, this ruling will have unforseen and far- reaching consequences.
The primary concern, according to women's advocates, is that pregnant women
who are, in fact, substance abusers, will be far less likely to seek pre-natal
care for fear of having their children taken away and of being incarcerated.
These women and their children (born and unborn), are generally poor and
have the most to gain from such care.
Moreover, only publicly funded hospitals can be required to drug-test
newborns. Thus, the threat of detection and incarceration will fall primarily
on the poor and those without private health insurance. There can be little
doubt, therefore, that the South Carolina ruling will be discriminatory
in its application.
For more information on this emotionally-laden, widely misunderstood
topic, visit the Lindesmith Center's online library section on Women and
Drugs, at http://www.lindesmith.org/tlcintro.html#women.
See DRCNet's article of October '96 for a list of medical and public health
organizations opposing criminal prosecution of pregnant addicts and for
further info about the Whitner Case: http://www.drcnet.org/guide10-96/pregnancy.html
-- END --
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Issue #18, 11/7/97
Washington Initiative Fails at Ballot: No one said this was going to be easy | McWilliams Case Set Back: Judges "changes mind" on medical necessity defense | California Medical Marijuana Providers Conference: Groups sign on to principles and guidelines document | Patient Threatened with Arrest after Seeking Dialogue: Yuba County accused of violating Prop. 215 | South Carolina Supreme Court Upholds Eight Year Prison Sentence for Woman Whose Baby was Born with Drugs in System | Prohibition at Work: Mexican law enforcement officers once again involved in sometimes lethal criminal activities | Canadian Passports New Currency in Illegal Drug Market | Poll: British MP's Would Modify Cannabis Law -- split most evident within Labour Party | Five Former Cops Plead Guilty to Drug Trafficking | Whitman Wins, Needle Exchange Loses | Miss America Visits Needle Exchange Program | New MS Treatment Very Effective, But Very Expensive... Medical marijuana still illegal as alternative | World Bank Endorses Needle Exchange Funding | McCaffrey Calls Allegations Inappropriate | Irish Teens Top European Drug Users | Study Finds Not All Drug Users Are Losers | Narcs vs. Murphy Brown: DEA Chief criticizes fictional news anchor for medical marijuana use | Media Watch: Drug war issues in the news | Editorial: Are the drug warriors really fighting for this nation's youth?
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