The National Institutes of Health estimates that about 5% of pregnant women use addictive substances during pregnancy. So, if someone suffering from substance abuse disorder is unable to quit, are there criminal penalties when they use while they are pregnant?
Though you may be arrested by law enforcement officers for using illegal drugs, there are generally no additional criminal charges if you do so while you are pregnant. A number of states such as Alabama and South Carolina have state laws which have been used to uphold criminal child abuse verdicts for prenatal illegal drug use, primarily on the grounds those states believe a viable fetus is a person and using drugs while pregnant constitutes child endangerment. In most other states, you are relatively safe from the criminal justice system. Tennessee was the only state that had a specific criminal law against using illegal drugs while pregnant, but it expired in 2016.
Pregnant women who continue to use harmful drugs may still face consequences.
Nearly half of the states in the U.S. view prenatal illegal drug use as a form of civil child abuse. As such, in most of these states, pregnant illegal drug users may face civil penalties, generally in the form of losing parental rights to your child who would then enter the child welfare system after an investigation by child protective services. Only a few states allow for the involuntary commitment to a rehab facility for a treatment program before you can be found to be capable of parenting your newborn.
Many states have laws that require health care providers to test for and report prenatal drug use, and a subset of those laws only require testing for Medicaid patients. Other states only require health care professionals to report any known prenatal drug use. Some believe laws that require testing and reporting for only those individuals on Medicaid is racially discriminatory as it does not include all pregnant people and unfairly targets minorities.
Courts generally view illegal drug use during pregnancy as a substance abuse issue requiring medical intervention rather than imprisonment. The punitive policies of criminalizing drug addiction are a controversial topic but is rarely viewed favorably when it comes to pregnant women who are struggling with substance use disorders. There are treatments such as methadone which can be used to treat opioid use disorder but they can still cause neonatal abstinence syndrome in the newborn where they would need to be detoxed after being born.
If you or a loved one is in a bind as a result of a criminal charge, immediately contact a Seattle Criminal Attorney. A Criminal lawyer is not going to judge you and understands that everyone makes mistakes. Hiring a Seattle Criminal Lawyer to help can – at a minimum – reduce penalties and can help direct people on how to best deal with their criminal charge, and many times even get them dismissed. So, it should go without saying that someone cited for a misdemeanor or felony should hire a qualified Seattle Criminal Lawyer as soon as possible. Criminal charges can cause havoc on a person’s personal and professional life. Anyone charged with a crime in Washington State should immediately seek the assistance of a seasoned Seattle Criminal Lawyer. SQ Attorneys can be reached at (425) 359-3791 and/or (206) 441-0900.
