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Policies towards Pregnancy and Addiction: Sticks without Carrots
Author(s) -
CHAVKIN WENDY,
WISE PAUL H.,
ELMAN DEBORAH
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb09750.x
Subject(s) - addiction , harm , criminology , criminal justice , psychiatry , substance abuse , economic justice , pregnancy , political science , medicine , psychology , law , biology , genetics
Throughout this century in the United States, tension has existed between those who believe drug abuse is best combatted through the criminal justice system and those who emphasize a medical/public health model of prevention and treatment. In the last decade this debate has centered around the person of the pregnant addict. The former have construed her addiction as willful harm to the fetus punishable on criminal and child abuse grounds. The latter have countered that pregnancy is a moment of increased motivation for treatment and focused on expansion and improvement of treatment options. Both managed care and welfare reform have exacerbated conditions between these opposing policy approaches. The addicted woman is increasingly caught between policies that punish her drug use without options for overcoming addiction.