The fight over when women lose all rights when they become pregnant continues. A bill under consideration in Tennessee would mandate drug and alcohol testing for pregnant women under several conditions:
(1) No prenatal care;
(2) Late prenatal care after twenty-four (24) weeks gestation;
(3) Incomplete prenatal care;
(4) Abruptio placentae;
(5) Intrauterine fetal death;
(6) Preterm labor of no obvious cause;
(7) Intrauterine growth retardation of no obvious cause;
(8) Previously known alcohol or drug abuse; or
(9) Unexplained congenital anomalies.
Refusal of "treatment" results in referral to child protective services. Now, there are all the usual (good) arguments to made in response against mandating drug testing and rehab for pregnant women, such as: it deters them from seeking health care in the first place; it interferes with a doctor's judgment; treatment is impossible in a state where there are aren't enough beds available and nearly all the facilities don't take pregnant women or allow women to bring their children along (see Salon for details).
But as Rachel from Women's Health News points out eloquently, the list of triggers for the testing here adds a whole extra layer of ick: Preterm labor? Intrauterine death? We don't know what causes these things most of the time—are we now going to by default blame them all on the mother's behavior? Should a woman grieving a lost pregnancy not be able to drink for while for comfort without fear of being sent to rehab or losing her other kids?
And how about "incomplete prenatal care"? So now it is not up to us to choose whether we want ultrasounds or invasive tests that tell us nothing or carry a risk of miscarriage themselves?
If you care about the effects of drug and alcohol abuse on kids, for god's sake spend your energy making the treatment system actually work.
Photo by michab37.
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