Mary, who didn't want her real named used, wiped back the tears as she talked about her inability to forgive herself, after taking prescription pain pills during her pregnancy.
"I would have never thought that I would do something like that," said the mother of three, who is expecting her fourth child in April.
The woman, who is in a Dallas-area recovery center for drug addicts says it was difficult to ask for help. She says if she had been labeled a criminal, instead of an addict, she might not have sought treatment.
"Where would my baby and I be now, if I hadn't asked for help?"
But, experts say that choice to get treatment could take on an added dimension, under a new proposal that would make prenatal drug use, a felony. Pregnant women could be sent to prison.
New Braunfels, State Representative, Doug Miller authored the house bill, making drug use during pregnancy a crime. Miller's spokesman says it is an important tool for judges and juries to punish a parent who harms her child in the womb.
"This bill is aimed at people taking dangerous narcotics, without any regard for the life they have created," Chief of Staff, Fritz Reinig, said.
Supporters say along with making illegal drug use criminal for a pregnant woman, there could also be steps to take away the woman's child. While drug counseling experts understand the urge to pass laws that protect children, some disagree with this approach.
"You have just made it a crime. It is no longer a health issue or a social issue. When you criminalize this kind of drug use, then the women will go underground," Executive Director of Dallas-based, Nexus Recovery Center, Becca Crowell, said.
Crowell fears that pregnant addicts who don't receive drug treatment will also not seek prenatal care.
As for Mary, she is nearing her due date and the end of her rehab stay. From here, she plans to be a sober mom.
"I have the tools so I won't use, pregnant or not." |
