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Pregnancy; drug use; substance use; fetus; fetal rights; drug use during pregnancy; privacy; reproductive liberty; abortion; war on drugs; neglect; abuse; child welfare; child protection; family court; New York; FCA 1012; harm to the child
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Full-Text Articles in Social Welfare Law
Punishing Drug Use During Pregnancy: Is It Time To “Just Say No” To Fetal Rights?, Danika E. Gallup
Punishing Drug Use During Pregnancy: Is It Time To “Just Say No” To Fetal Rights?, Danika E. Gallup
Brooklyn Law Review
In family courts throughout the country, civil neglect and abuse petitions are routinely brought against individuals based on their drug use during pregnancy. While some may be quick to justify such state interventions in the name of child protection based on the presumption that drug use always harms fetuses in utero and the child once it is born, this note questions the propriety of such justifications. While drug use during pregnancy may result in detrimental health outcomes, the theoretical underpinning of this premise has been dramatically distorted due to racist and classist assumptions that permeate child protective schemes. Medical research …