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Historically, women’s involvement in the “drug war” has been exploited or ignored. ... Women were seen as especially susceptible to these salesmen. The idea that women were being diverted from their duties as wives and mothers by their drug-induced stupors alarmed the public. This view of women as gullible innocents heightened moral outrage, calling for states to ban these substances. ... It was not until the 1970’s that the problem of addicted women was even addressed as not one of “moral weakness” but as a disease. ... As a result of this media barrage, women, particularly pregnant women fell victim to vigorous efforts by legislators to penalize them for their drug use. ... However, police and prosecutors across the country have relied on criminal laws already in place to arrest and charge women with child abuse and/or neglect, delivering drugs to a minor (through the umbilical cord), corruption of a minor, manslaughter, and assault with a deadly weapon, and use them against women to cover drug use during pregnancy.
Women who have appealed their convictions to their state supreme court have prevailed in all but one instance. South Carolina has imposed the most punitive policies toward pregnant drug using women of any state. ... As a result, the court concluded that a pregnant woman who uses an illicit drug or engaged in any other behavior that might endanger the fetus could be prosecuted as a child abuser and sentenced to up to ten years in jail.
Approximate Word count = 1127
Approximate Pages = 4.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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