I personally know foster and adoptive parents who have worked long and hard to get some type of legal action against mothers who regularly consume drugs and alcohol during pregnancy. With all the publicity around I don’t believe there could be a woman of child bearing age alive today that doesn’t know how harmful drugs and alcohol are to an unborn child. I do think that it’s real progress for it to make it to have made it to the House of Representatives and I’m sure the issue will not die forever.

The article states that these parents need the support they so desperately need. Well if you’ve been involved with the state foster care system at all, you would know that the state can spend two years give or more trying to reunify children who have been removed with their parents. During this reunification period the parents are offered or mandated services which may include drug or alcohol counseling, random drug screens, and parenting classes. When the child is sent home another in home service is frequently provided to help with budgeting, meals and cleaning. I’ve seen parents go through all of this training with flying colors, get their children returned, and then a year later doing it all again.

I know of one mom that has given birth to nine children so far, all heavily exposed to alcohol and cocaine. She walks away from the child at the hospital and lets foster care take over with no intention of trying to parent the child. The children typically suffer from Cerebral Palsy or similar physical problems and learning disabilities. Literally thousands of state and federal tax dollars have been used to provide foster care, day care, medical care and legal fees for these children. That is why the people who are so closely involved with parenting the affected children want to see legal action against the people who knowingly damage their children.

Just a few weeks ago I came across two separate recruiting advertisements seeking potential adoptive parents on adoption boards that I frequent for infants exposed to drugs and alcohol. Both advertisements mentioned weekly drug and alcohol abuse by the mother and both had estimated fees, not including travel, of almost thirty thousand dollars. First of all I don’t think it is appropriate to provide expenses to a birth mother that is damaging her child. Secondly, these children will have long term issues, even though problems like learning disabilities may not show up until the children reach school age. Anyway, below is an excerpt from the article.

Jailing parents not the answer
By the Helena IR - 02/20/07
It is true that prenatal damage caused by parents’ addictions is costly to society and can be devastating to the child, and Peterson’s goal of deterrence is laudable. But the goal is better served by providing the support these parents so desperately need, not simply throwing more people into prison.” Read the entire article at