BALANCING ACT

Handle Addicted Moms With Care

No child should be born addicted to drugs.

No baby should start out with a birth defect because a mother couldn’t
stop drinking or abusing drugs while she was pregnant. It’s not fair
to taxpayers who often have to pick up the medical bills to care for
these babies their entire lives.

A proposal making its way through the state Legislature would give
prosecutors some leverage to get addicted mothers into treatment while
they’re still pregnant. Under HB 2487, doctors, nurses or others
taking care of a pregnant woman would be required to report to the
state Health Department if they find during the course of routine
prenatal care that she’s been abusing drugs or alcohol./ If a mother
refused to seek treatment, she could be charged with a misdemeanor. If
it happened for a second time, she’d be charged with a felony.

But if she did seek treatment, she’d be immune from prosecution for
the drug use.

The bill’s intentions are nothing but good: Protect the unborn child
and get the mother the help she really needs.

The bill’s author, state Rep. Russ Roach, D-Tulsa, said he filed it
after learning from his wife, who is a medical social worker, and a
Tulsa County prosecutor that the state had no way to compel these
women to get help before their child is born. Afterwards it’s too
late. sometimes it’s difficult to balance good intentions with a
person’s right to privacy.

No matter how onerous a pregnant addict’s behavior is, state
legislators should handle this issue with care.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case from
Charleston, S.C., that raises similar issues to the ones the Oklahoma
Legislature is trying to solve.

Nurses at a Charleston public hospital noticed many indigent, pregnant
woman showed signs of crack cocaine abuse.

Hospital officials agreed to notify police if a pregnant woman tested
positive for cocaine with the intent to get them into treatment.

Most of them were arrested after their children were born. The ones
who sued are claiming the drug tests without their knowledge violated
their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches.

Roach said he understands the delicate line between getting these
women help before tits too late and violating their rights. the
medical community is involved in crafting the wording of the bill,
which passed the House last week, 98-1.

Drug-addicted babies are a real problem. so are unreasonable searches.
Legislators should continue to make sure their good intentions don’t
get in the way of protecting the rights of all of us.