Article for Chapter 13

Chapter 13 talks about a numerous amount of issues, however, I would like to delve deep into the issue of the criminalization of drug addicts. A New York Times article investigated the issue of The Criminalization of Bad Mothers. However, there is a portion that deals with drug-addicted mothers and cases in which prosecutors wanted to penalize them for potentially harming their children before their birth.

The article delves right into a case about a mother who was criminally charged for "chemically endangering" her child in the state of Alabama. The mandatory sentence for this is 10 years to life; but was set at a bail of $250,000 (Calhoun, 2012). She was eventually sentenced to the minimum of 10 years. The article goes on and talks about the rarity of such cases, however, organizations such as the Personhood USA have been trying to get laws in place in which a "fully rights endowed person is created once sperm meets egg" (Calhoun, 2012). This organization wants the mother to be held accountable for any drug use after that under criminal punishment. As of 2012, it has legislature and initiatives in 22 states. However, adveraries to this argue that they believe this is a health issue and should not be treated as a criminal action (Calhoun, 2012). Much of the article gives examples of other cases in Alabama where women were accused and charged with numerous penalties for doing drugs while pregnant. Many prosecutors equate doing drugs while pregnant to driving while drunk; "a crime was still committed, although nothing had been done." The article concludes with an analysis by the author in which she seems to play both sides of the fence. Overall, it was a phenomenal article and a very interesting read.

Personally, I believe that mothers should be held accountable for endangering their child while pregnant. If you feel that you are responsible enough to engage in sexual activity; you then are responsible enough to care for a child in the proper way. I am a firm believer that once the sperm meets the egg the end result is a child. In NO cases, has there been any other outcome. I would agree with Alabama's law and wish it would be implemented elsewhere. By holding the parent accountable and making them complete treatment along with possible jail time, it would provide them an opportunity at a chance to raise their child in a more safe, friendly, and drug free environment. I believe the author of this article for the New York Times did a really good job creating this story and making it easy to understand for the casual reader. Also, she looked at both sides of the case and was not biased towards one or the other. Overall, I am really glad I found this article. It relates closely to our reading and it is nice when you can relate in-class text to outside material for application purposes.


REFERENCE:
Calhoun, A. (2012, 04 25). The criminalization of bad mothers. New York Times.Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/magazine/the-criminalization-of-bad-mothers.html?pagewanted=all