Iris Marion Young’s chapter is critical. It exposed light on how policy makers should look at re-examining the current policy on pregnant addicts through three different approaches: punishment, treatment, and empowerment. The punishment approach is not effective because it presents a notion of “an eye for an eye.” Punishments are harsher on pregnant women of color and poor women. Women are being charged with drug abuse and/or neglect for using drugs while pregnant. In addition, child(ren) can be removed from the home if authorities feel that the mother is abusing drugs, which will affect the mother and the child simultaneously. The government feels that pregnant addicts should be held responsible for their actions. They deserve to pay the …show more content…
The health care providers are receiving federal funding; so, they have to report to if a woman’s urine test is positive for drugs; and the addicts are not willing to risk going to jail, forced into treatment, lose benefits, be monitored, or subjected to some type of government scrutiny. As a result, countless women are left without adequate prenatal care for their unborn. The punishment approach and treatment approach often work together, but doesn’t always end up effective. Pregnant addicts that are forced into treatment are not consistently compliant. Treatment were forced upon them and they may have experienced resistance because addiction is a condition and one cannot stop on their own free will. “Most experts agree that once a person become dependent on a substance, stopping her usage is difficult and cannot be accomplished by a mere act of will” (Young, 1994, p. …show more content…
“Drug treatment is limited. Most programs either do not accept pregnant women or have waiting lists that extend long beyond their due dates. Most private health insurance programs offer only partial reimbursement for treatment, and in many states Medicaid will reimburse only a portion of the cost of drug treatment” (Young, 1994, p. 38). Now, this is disturbing. The government has forced medical practitioners into mandated reporters which forces a pregnant addict into two options treatment or jail. Treatment is not a viable option because there are limited to no space available; then, who will cover the cost? So, the latter option is jail which equates to an unbearable lost. A criminal record, detoxing behind bars, and the loss of a child to foster care. Hence, these women are left with no one (government, practitioner, social services agency, and criminal justice system) to trust. Young sided with the treatment approach more than the punishment approach. She believed in ethics of care, treatment, and that addiction is a mental illness/health problem instead of a criminal justice problem. Young expressed the need for the government to change their patterns of unequal relationships with the needy. She said that one relationship was dependent on the other; but, asserts that society should move towards a caring approach of helping people in dire need,
Within our society, there is a gleaming stigma against the drug addicted. We have been taught to believe that if someone uses drugs and commits a crime they should be locked away and shunned for their lifetime. Their past continues to haunt them, even if they have changed their old addictive ways. Everyone deserves a second chance at life, so why do we outcast someone who struggles with this horrible disease? Drug addiction and crime can destroy lives and rip apart families. Drug courts give individuals an opportunity to repair the wreckage of their past and mend what was once lost. Throughout this paper, I will demonstrate why drug courts are more beneficial to an addict than lengthy prison sentences.
Once these individuals in rehab serve there sentence the majority of them, won’t look straight to the next opportunity to get high, but the next opportunity for a better future after being encouraged in rehab to accomplish something in life, compared to someone’s attitude coming out of prison. One story involved a man named Richard with his wife Marcia. She was an addict who was often jailed for it, but Anthony believed like many others that “addiction can be overcome with proper help. He believed that the solution was to get her into a mental hospital [and] get her whatever she needs – Xanax, morphine, to get her chemical imbalance right. Show her some respect. (114)” Give her some working skills, so once she gets out she is capable of being successful but instead she kept getting “kicked down the steps” by the criminal justice system. The jailing and torture of addicts is routine to people serving cases for drug related offenses, who are often not built to endure prison, let alone jail. “The Justice Department estimates that 216,000 people are raped in these prisons every year. (This is the number of rapes, not the number of rapes – that is much higher.) (109)” This is ultimately shows the simple fact that many people are not built to endure
Cook, Selig, Wedge, and Gohn-Baube (1999) stated that an essential part of the country’s public health agenda is to improve access to prenatal care, particularly for economically disadvantaged women. I agree with this statement because access to care is very important for the outcome of a healthy mother and child. Improving access to prenatal care for disadvantaged women will not only save lives but also lighten the high financial, social, and emotional costs of caring for low weight babies. Some of the barriers that these women face are mainly structural where the availability of care is limited; the cost of care is a financial burden; and the time to seek care is problematic due to being single mothers working more than one job (Lia-Hoagberb, 1990). Additionally, there is the issue of prenatal care being delivered differently depending on one’s race. A study found that White mothers delivering ve...
During the late 1970’s a movement began with state prosecutors using child abuse, endangerment statues and charges of provisions of drugs to a minor to prosecute pregnant women who used illicit substances during their pregnancies. The prosecution of a pregnant heroine user in the State of California with a felony child endangerment charge was one of the first of such prosecutions in 1977 (Stone-Manista, 2009, pp.823-856). This was the catalyst for the often biased punishment of pregnant drug addicts under the scope of the law. It is this vein of prosecution that struck ...
Right now in the United States there are over 2 million people incarcerated in the country’s prisons and jails. Out of this population about one-quarter of these inmates have been convicted of a drug offense. With drug offense arrests increasing nationwide and the prison population increasing there is an alternative to incarceration has been used over the past two decades in many cities across the country. This alternative is in the form of local drug courts that are now found in most major cities in the United States. A drug court is a specialized court in which the judge, prosecutor, public defender or private attorney, probation officers, and treatment counselors work together to help chemically dependent offenders obtain needed treatment and rehabilitation in an attempt to break the cycle of addiction and further criminal offenses. Some argue that treatment rather than incarceration is a waste of time and valuable resources that could be used elsewhere. Research however has shown that court ordered treatment is the best option for drug offenders. Treatments through drug court has proven to be less expensive than incarceration and has also been shown to reduce crime and provide a lower relapse and re-arrest rate for offenders that are placed in drug courts as opposed to those that are not.
Scharnberg, Kirsten. "Pregnant Addicts Face Rise in Prosecutions." SIRS.com. Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL), 26 Nov. 2003. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.
Some people argue that the drug users aren’t the heroin victims. One writer notes, 'The parents of the user who steals from them, abuses them, physically, emotionally and mentally, the siblings who suffer the loss of care and love but who also get abused and used by the user, the kids of the user who learn that the parent's desire for smack is greater than the desire to be a parent,' are the real heroin victims (Fitzgerald, 2000). This problem therefore effects not only the user but the society living around them as well.
The first step in ending the issue of drug use and abuse in our country is to cure the drug users from their addiction in a safe, controlled manner. As confirmed in an article from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Drug addiction is a chronic disease characterized by compulsive, or uncontrollable, drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences and changes in the brain, which can be long lasting.” (“Treatment Approaches for Drug Addiction”) The addiction of drugs is an actual disease, and cannot be brushed off as something that can be stopped at any point in time. Drug addiction is just as serious as any other diagnosed disease and must be cured accordingly. Prison will not benefit those addicted to drugs because it is a disease that must be treated, just as any other illness is. In an attempt to end an addiction without help in a safe environment, dangerous consequences could result.
From the inception of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, the social concept of drug addicts or those recovering from abuse as “criminal deviants” is still stigmatized today even though we have gained ground and won the war on dru...
The harsh punishment for drug crimes in the United States of America is not working. “With roughly half a million people behind bars in the U.S. for nonviolent drug offenses, drugs are as plentiful and widely used as ever” (Grenier, 2013). Even with very harsh long sentences and many people imprisoned drug use is as common as ever in America. ‘We cannot close our eyes anymore’ to the cost in human lives destroyed and taxpayer dollars wasted” (Holcomb, 2015). Harsh drug penalties are destroying American citizens lives and is costing a lot of money from taxpayers. “Yet, people who want treatment can often expect to endure an obstacle course just to get help” (Grenier, 2013). The Unites States government is spending a large amount of money on arresting and imprisoning drug users, yet are putting little to no focus on funding drug medical help for
A pregnant women committed a crime and must serve a 10 ten prison sentence, she is at a crossroads with what to do with the baby, keep it in jail with her or let it die on the streets? The choice is obvious. Mothers should be able to have their babies with them in prison due to a variety of reasons. Having their babies with them in prison helps with the early mother-child bonding that is crucial for the lifelong success of the child, it helps the mother become a better person while reducing the recidivism rate, and because the mothers can raise their children in a safer environment compared to the streets with no assistance.
The drug control policy of the United States has always been a subject of debate. From Prohibition in the early 1930’s to the current debate over the legalization of marijuana, drugs have always been near the top of the government’s agenda. Drug use affects every part of our society. It strains our economy, our healthcare, our criminal justice systems, and it endangers the futures of young people. In order to support a public health approach to drug control, the Obama administration has committed over $10 billion to drug education programs and support for expanding access to drug treatment for addicts (Office). The United States should commit more government resources to protect against illegal use of drugs by youths and provide help for recovering addicts.
Drug and alcohol abuse has become a worldwide epidemic within today’s society. The battle against drugs and alcohol is not going to diminish. Therefore, we as a society need to work together to address these problems while incorporating successful treatment plans and services for these individuals. The addiction to these substances does not only effect oneself, but can also have profound consequences for the children and families.
Drug abuse and addiction are issues that affect people everywhere. However, these issues are usually treated as criminal activity rather than issues of public health. There is a conflict over whether addiction related to drug abuse is a disease or a choice. Addiction as a choice suggests that drug abusers are completely responsible for their actions, while addiction as a disease suggests that drug abusers need help in order to break their cycle of addiction. There is a lot of evidence that suggests that addiction is a disease, and should be treated rather than punished. Drug addiction is a disease because: some people are more likely to suffer from addiction due to their genes, drug abuse brought on by addictive behavior changes the brain and worsens the addiction, and the environment a person lives in can cause the person to relapse because addiction can so strongly affect a person.
Another tragic and very important issue ate the " Crack Babies". A crack baby is a child born to a mother who was smoking crack during her pregnancy and up until the time of birth. The infant is addicted at birth, suffers withdrawal agonies, and continues to suffer from developmental abnormalities. These tragedies occur at too high a rate no matter how many there are… The 1991 Household Survey data estimated that about 280,000 women of all ages might have used crack at some time during the year.