Should Pregnant Drug Users Be Prosecuted

There is no doubt that in today’s world the issues concerning drug use and drug

policy are highly debated. Individuals have attempted to tackle these problems using

different ethical and moral based philosophical arguments, but there has always remained

division. Different countries have adopted diverse legal positions in their own pursuit of

achieving what they believe are the right decisions. But within the broad topic of drug use

there are more complicated situations that require a closer look. One of these topics is

should pregnant drug users be prosecuted? The ethics revolving around this subject are

currently controversial since it concerns women and also unborn children. In the United

States it is estimated that 5.5% of women use illegal drugs while pregnant. On one side

you have those who believe incarceration is necessary since these women are taking

illegal drugs and also directly endangering the lives of the fetuses. Others believe that

prosecution simply does more damage to these women, their children, and the rest of

their family. Like most ethical issues, there is no obvious correct solution as both sides

convey respectable points.

Many individuals see this topic as a simple matter of breaking the laws set out to

protect us and protect us from harming others. Those who rely on this paternalistic

outlook believe that it would be foolish to not take legal action against these pregnant

women who choose to take drugs. In any other situation, if a person was found using

these illegal substances they would be held responsible for their actions. Drugs are illegal

for a reason in this nation and just because the user may be pregnant should not allow

them to reprieve any legal accountability. If this punishment was taken away it would

only increase the amount of addicted women having children while using drugs. It is even

a possibility that addicted women would use pregnancy as a crutch to stay