Sumerau 1!

Beau Sumerau

Mrs. Dooley

Law & Justice

12 February 2018

Drug Abuse Does Not Equal Child Abuse

In 2014, over seven million Americans battled with drug abuse and those who were

pregnant could have been charged with child abuse. Currently, according to state statutes, 14

states consider prenatal drug exposure as a form of child abuse or neglect; while in other states,

prosecutors will still try and charge the mother with a form of abuse. The government should be

less focused on giving more charges to people who struggle with addiction and rather focus on

rehabilitation. Drug abuse should not constitute child abuse because no laws regarding child

abuse entail drug abuse, drug abuse can not be helped by the mother when she has chemical

dependency, and other substances like tobacco and alcohol are just as bad but are not considered

child abuse.

First off, no government definition of child abuse correlates with any definition of drug

abuse for pregnant women. There are multiple types of abuse that parents can commit against

their children according to the federal government. These types are physical, sexual, and

emotional abuse. Sexual and emotional abuse according to government standards do not apply

because the child has not yet been born. However, physical abuse is defined as “any non

accidental physical injury to the child’`, according to state statutes in Alaska, Arkansas, and

others. The statute implies that physical abuse is intentional since it has to be non accidental and
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pregnant women who take drugs do not take them with the intention to hurt their child, since

they have a chemical dependency for their drug.

Chemical dependency causes a person to lose control over their drug use, so pregnant

women who are charged with child abuse for their drug use is charging someone for something

they cannot help. The government’s definition of chemical dependency is, “a chronic disorder

manifested by repeated use of alcohol or other drugs to an extent that it interferes with a person's

health, social, or economic functioning”. Since drug abuse and chemical dependency go hand in

hand, pregnant women do not have the intent to hurt their unborn child but rather are suffering

from a chronic disorder and cannot stop their addiction. According to Project Know, an

organization dedicated to understanding addiction, chemical dependency causes a loss of control

over a person’s drug use, and that the person experiences significant health, psychological, or

relationship damage but still cannot give up the drug. This means a pregnant woman who, by

government definition has a chemical dependency, cannot control her own drug use can still be

tried for child abuse in some states. In most states, child abuse is often tried as a felony, so if a

pregnant woman who suffers from drug abuse, meaning she has a chemical dependency, was

convicted of child abuse she would most likely spend five or more years in prison for something

she cannot help.

Another way that drug abuse does not equate to child abuse is how other substances can

be just as, if not more, harmful to an unborn child and are still legal to take while pregnant. For

example, smoking can lead to a variety of birth defects similar to that of illegal drugs but is not

considered child abuse by the government. According to the CDC, smoking while pregnant

increases the risk of cleft lip, cleft palate, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), and many
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other problems during pregnancy, but according to the government this does not qualify as child

abuse. Alternatively, if a pregnant women were to take an illegal substance and her child was

born with the same birth defects, she could be charged with child abuse. The only difference is

the fact that the government has legalized the use of cigarettes and not that of illegal drugs, but

according to the American Pregnancy Association, the impacts of illegal drugs are very similar.

The association states, “Consumption of illegal drugs during pregnancy can result in miscarriage,

low birth weight, premature labor, placental abruption, and even fetal death”. Despite both

having extreme risk and having the possibility of resulting in the death of the unborn child,

cigarettes cannot constitute child abuse but illegal drugs can. Going back to chemical

dependency, both cigarettes and illegal drugs fall under this category as nicotine is categorized

by most experts as a drug, but despite both being a cause of chemical dependency only illegal

drugs are recognized as a form of child abuse if taken by a pregnant woman. This is both

hypocritical and an unjust. If the government wishes to exclude cigarettes as a form of child

abuse for pregnant women than illegal drugs must be not be considered either, as they both can

result in birth defects and those who use them typically have a chemical dependency for them.

Despite all of this some people still disagree.

One argument a person might make for why drug abuse should be considered child abuse

for pregnant women is that drinking alcohol and using tobacco products while pregnant is just as

dangerous and should be considered child abuse in addition to illegal substances. Alcohol,

tobacco, and illegal drugs should be deferred to if pregnant as they can be very dangerous for

unborn children, but in many cases the mother cannot help it, as again they have a chemical

dependency. Chemical dependency in the government’s definition includes both tobacco and
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alcohol, so therefore tobacco and alcohol use should not be considered child abuse for the same

reason as the use of illegal drugs, in that the mothers can not control their addiction.

A person might also argue that drug abuse while pregnant should be considered child

abuse as the mother consciously takes a drug every time that causes harm to their child. This

simply is not true as the mother typically does not take the drug every time consciously. As stated

previously drug abuse causes a person to loose control over using habits, and the National

Association of Drug Court Professionals clearly demonstrates this. They state how

approximately 95 percent of those imprisosned for drug use return to drugs after they are

released from prison. This shows how even after being imprisoned for their drug use, users still

more than likely will return because they have lost control of their addiction. Because this

example shows the loss of control drug users have pregnant women are no exception and almost

all have lost control of their drug use. Therefore, the mother is not consciously taking the drug

every time but rather has lost control over her own addiction.

Some may also argue that although drug abuse does not meet the standards for most

forms of child abuse it should still be considered under the category of neglect because they

believe the mother taking drugs is neglectful to their unborn child. The government statutes

define neglect as, “the failure of a parent or other person with responsibility for the child to

provide needed food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision to the degree that the child’s

health, safety, and well-being are threatened with harm”. According to this definition, neglect

would be the failure to provide something to the child that is necessary, not an action that could

possibly harm the child. Therefore, a pregnant mother taking drugs would not be neglect as it is

not the lack of an action, but rather an action that comes with risk. Even if a pregnant woman
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with substance abuse were to be considered neglect it would serve no purpose but to punish

someone for an action they cannot help and tear family families apart, and that would truly be

neglectful to the family.

Drug abuse is still a major issue, and pregnant women should defer from taking drugs,

drinking alcohol, and smoking as they do create large risk for developing babies. That said, drug

abuse should not constitute child abuse because it does not follow any other government

definitions, it can not be helped by the mother when she takes a drug, and other substances are

just as bad but are still legal. Instead of prosecuting these people with more charges for their

addiction the government should work toward rehabilitating the mothers so they can be better

parents in the future while still making sure the child is safe.

*=Law, Statutes, things that can’t be MLA formatted.

Cites:

*-https://law.justia.com/codes/south-carolina/2013/title-44/chapter-52/section-44-52-10/

*-https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/define.pdf

*-https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/drugexposed.pdf#page=2&view=Prenatal drug
exposure

-“Smoking During Pregnancy - Birth Defect Prevention.” Birth Defect Research for Children,
www.birthdefects.org/healthy-baby/recreation/smoking/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4bO77-
qO2QIVV7nACh2_pA41EAAYASAAEgJPlPD_BwE.

-“Statistics on Drug Addiction.” American Addiction Centers, americanaddictioncenters.org/

rehab-guide/addiction-statistics/.
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-“Reproductive Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 29 Sept. 2017, www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/
tobaccousepregnancy/index.htm.

-“Using Illegal Drugs During Pregnancy.” American Pregnancy Association, 1 Feb. 2018,
americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/illegal-drugs-during-pregnancy/.

-Chemical Addiction and Chemical Dependency Treatment Centers.” Project Know, 3 Mar.
2018, www.projectknow.com/research/chemical-dependency/#the-stages-of-dependency.

-“Child Abuse Penalties and Sentencing.” Findlaw, criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/child-

abuse-penalties-and-sentencing.html.

*-https://www.nadcp.org/sites/default/files/nadcp/Facts%20on%20Drug%20Courts%20.pdf