We should tend to moms with addictions
For pregnant women struggling with addiction, the act of seeking treatment is complicated by fear and stigma. The threat of possible future prosecution, forcible detention and child separation are significant deterrents to asking for help and the health care these mothers need.
It’s nearly impossible to imagine how difficult this decision to enter treatment can be for some women with addiction, even when they know they need help. Yet this fear is justified, as parts of Oklahoma — instead of providing evidence-based social support and addiction treatment services — arrest, prosecute and jail new mothers who allegedly used drugs while pregnant.
In December of last year, the district attorney for Carter, Johnston, Love, Marshall and Murray counties began prosecuting new mothers alleged to have used controlled substances while pregnant. Numerous women have already been prosecuted and others could follow. This policy that includes punishing women on the basis of “child neglect” for having used controlled substances while pregnant goes against all medical evidence guiding the treatment of addiction. Purported to protect the unborn, this policy will harm mothers and their babies.
The American Medical Association, March of Dimes and other leading medical organizations have addressed the issue of drug use during pregnancy. They agree upon a simple, guiding principle: Addiction is a disease best managed through education and evidence-based treatment — not through the criminal justice system. In fact, research has demonstrated that punishment alone is not an effective intervention for anyone with addiction. To the contrary, coercive and punitive policies are far more likely to discourage pregnant women from seeking health care and drug treatment when they need it most — adversely affecting maternal and fetal mortality rates.
We know the opioid overdose epidemic ravaging our nation hasn’t spared women of childbearing age. As national health care providers and lawmakers actively seek solutions to expand access to evidence-based addiction treatment programs, it’s unconscionable that here in Oklahoma, officials continue to punish women struggling with a substance use disorder and separate them from their young children.
Protecting children should start with protecting mothers from counterproductive criminal prosecution. It’s time for Oklahoma policymakers to stop viewing addiction as a crime and start getting serious about the only effective solution to protecting children — creating supportive, evidence-based treatment programs for mothers.