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Punitive legal approaches to the problem of prenatal drug exposure
Author(s) -
GarrityRokous Frances Elizabeth
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0355(199422)15:2<218::aid-imhj2280150211>3.0.co;2-p
Subject(s) - punitive damages , sanctions , political science , law , criminal law , criminology , intervention (counseling) , legislature , humanities , medicine , sociology , psychiatry , philosophy
Legislatures and courts have responded prematurely to the problem of prenatal drug exposure through a variety of criminal and civil legal sanctions to deter drug use and to protect fetal health. A review of the case law demonstrates that significant statutory and constitutional difficulties limit the effectiveness of these sanctions and ultimately inhibit their applicability. These constraints require that any governmental intervention through the courts be based upon individual judicial findings of imminent harm to the child and maternal unfitness in neglect proceedings.