Prenatal Drug Use: The Ethics of Testing and Incarcerating Pregnant Women

It is estimated that every 1½ minutes an infant is born exposed to drugs. Prenatal use of illicit drugs has been associated with negative neonatal outcomes and has led to state mandates that involuntarily commit, and in some cases arrest and prosecute, pregnant women who test positive for drugs during pregnancy. The ethics of drug testing and incarcerating pregnant women has become an issue of much debate among community advocates and health care professionals. This paper discusses the history of the current debate of legal rights related to prenatal drug use and presents the conflicting views of fetal vs maternal rights.