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The Detention, Confinement, And Incarceration Of Pregnant Women For The Benefit Of Fetal Health, April L. Cherry

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Section One of this Article discusses the effect of drug policy on the detention and confinement of pregnant women. This section also outlines three types of "fetal protection measures" that result in the detention, confinement, or incarceration of pregnant women in the name of fetal health and examines the legal rationales behind these mechanisms. Section One then questions whether detention is an effective way to reach the state's articulated goal of better fetal outcomes. Section Two offers a discussion of the constitutional rights at issue. This section addresses the ways in which detention violates two essential components of women's rights: …