THE EFFECTS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE DURING PREGANCY

Many of us are use to hearing about the “War on Drugs” or Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), but not every day we hear about groups trying to stop mothers from killing their unborn child. The method that these mothers are using to kill or permanently hurt their unborn child is by using drugs during their pregnancy. Should these women go to jail for murdering or should they get help and pretend that nothing happened? Like every situation in our life, we must do what is right, and we must fight for what we know is right.
Paul A. Logli, a prosecutor for the state of Illinois argues that it is the government’s duty to enforce health of unborn fetuses, and that the mothers of these victims should be prosecuted. One of his views is that drugs are addictive and that legal and illegal drugs harm not only the unborn child but the mother as well. Some times these types of drugs won’t kill the fetus but it will affect him/her for remainder of their life (Logli, 84).
A 1988 survey of hospitals showed that as many as 375,000 infants may be affected by maternal cocaine use during their pregnancy each year. More recently a study at a hospit...