Nationally, federal data shows that about 20% of pregnancies end in a loss, but only a small number are investigated as crimes. In several states, a positive drug test after a pregnancy loss can result in criminal charges for the mother, and even prison time.
Prosecutions related to pregnancy appear to have increased since the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, according to Pregnancy Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for the legal rights of pregnant people. In the first year after the Dobbs decision — from June 2022 to June 2023 — there were at least 210 pregnancy-related prosecutions, researchers for the group found.
Here are some states where miscarriages and stillbirths have been investigated by the criminal legal system in recent years:
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Georgia
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Carolina
The California cases were interesting, because at first I was almost inclined to agree with the prosecution, it seemed like blatant negligence. That being said, these people were clearly unwell, punishing them for the horrors brought forth by their poor decisions seems gratuitous. I think it would easily be a slippery slope without the sweeping ban that has been put in place on that.
Punishments also do not prevent or deter these things from happening in the first place, IMO. Investing in things like education and making healthcare and treatment accessible do.
I mean, even from a fiscally conservative standpoint, on paper it is substantially cheaper to rehabilitate people than it is to house them in a jail or prison. Tax payer funded slave labor sounds pretty good in comparison when you’re not paying taxes I guess.
Prostitution and sex trafficking are also pretty common among substance using women. The lower rate of homelessness among women is mostly just because a brothel has a roof. If we were just housing and feeding them in livable conditions and having them attend outpatient treatment while offering birth control you wouldn’t see this nearly as much. Birth control is pretty critical to giving a woman the immediate safety needed to exit any kind of abusive relationship whether it’s a domestic partner or a pimp / madam. Food and housing don’t hurt either, and if you can get them to break the addiction and not need drug money you’ve done pretty much everything possible to help them break the cycle. It’s actually pretty rewarding to see how many people can figure it out with the right supports in place.
Oh this reminded me of this short (trigger warning for extremely dark / gross nurse humor).
Do you have some links to the California cases? Not doubting you, just curious about the details you came across.