'METH MOM' BILL CLEARS SENATE BY 18-16 VOTE:

GET-TOUGH MEASURE SPARKS CONTROVERSY

BOISE - The so-called "meth moms" bill that could lead to pregnant
drug users serving jail time in Idaho squeaked through the Senate
Tuesday by a mere two votes.

Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, the bill's sponsor, acknowledged
treatment programs would be a preferable alternative to law
enforcement intervention, but said under the state's current landscape
meth babies are being born with increasing frequency.

"Shouldn't it be a crime for a mother to induce those chemicals into
her baby?" he asked during his closing argument.

But the controversial get-tough measure worries care providers and
women's groups who fear it could lead to higher abortion rates and
less pre-natal care.

During a passionate debate, Sen. Dick Compton, R-Coeur d'Alene, said
he'd like to see drug dealers publicly stoned, but voted against the
bill out of a fear of unintended consequences.

"It is my great fear that these mothers will not come forward because
now they've got felony charges waiting around the bend for them," he
said.

The bill, which passed by an 18-16 vote, would mean pregnant mothers
convicted of doing marijuana, LSD, methamphetamine or other drugs
could face up to five years in jail and a $50,000 penalty. If the
option is available to them, the guilty mothers could choose to attend
drug court instead of going to jail.

Darrington said the goal of the legislation isn't to lock up pregnant
women, but rather to foster the birth of clean babies. He also
emphatically denied certain cold medicines could be included on the
controlled substances list.

Law enforcement officials have said the bill would give them a new
tool in the fight against meth and other drugs and local prosecutors
say the measure would benefit the health of both mothers and their
children.

But opponents of the proposal blasted the “meth moms" bill on
Tuesday as a reactionary solution to an ever-widening social problem.

"The bill does nothing to address the problem of addiction," said Sen.
Kate Kelly, D-Boise. “Being addicted to meth is not a crime, it's
a disease."

According to one lawmaker, statistics from South Carolina have shown
that implementation of tough laws against pregnant drug users result
in an 80 percent reduction in pre-natal treatment.

To legislators intent on sending an anti-drug message, however, such
facts didn't tell the whole story.

"It at least provides some protection for that baby," said Sen. Curt
McKenzie, R-Nampa. "I know this is a very tough thing, but I think
it's the right thing."

Interestingly, the 35-member Senate includes only four women, three of
whom voted against the bill.

And while methamphetamine and other drugs are widely thought to have
negative consequences if taken during pregnancy, the only substance
definitively shown to harm a fetus is alcohol, a product legal to
those age 21 and over.