Impact of Foetal assault laws - decreased antenatal care - increased maternal mortality

Bowerbird · Jun 1, 2019

In 2014, a bill (S.B. 1391) was passed that allowed the state of Tennessee to arrest pregnant women for the illegal use of narcotics during pregnancy if the child was born addicted to or harmed by the drug. Those arrested and charged under the Fetal Assault Law faced a penalty of up to 15 years in prison and loss of child custody. Prior to this legislation, and with the exception of a law penalizing inhalation of chemical fumes,1 no one in Tennessee (pregnant or not) could be arrested or punished for using or being dependent on drugs. Therefore, this legislation made drug use (as opposed to possession) a special crime only for pregnant women.
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During the years the law was in effect, a reported 124 women were arrested statewide. More importantly, early assessments of the impact of the law showed that pregnant women were avoiding prenatal care, fleeing Tennessee to give birth in neighboring states, and giving birth at home rather than in hospitals. Additionally, the law seemed to disadvantage women who traditionally have poor access to health care services.
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https://sisterreach.org/images/2019/fetalassaultreport_sr-final.pdf

There are those who put a lot of value on the so called “foetal assault” laws but as this study showed it had a very negative impact. Home births in women already taking harmful substances can only increase the maternal and infant mortality

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Impact of Foetal assault laws - decreased antenatal care - increased maternal mortality

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Impact of Foetal assault laws - decreased antenatal care - increased maternal mortality

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