Should Britain follow America and prosecute women who take drugs while pregnant? A new mum in Tennessee faces jail after her baby was born addicted to crystal meth - because she was smoking it while carrying the tot. Lawmakers there say that’s akin to assaulting your unborn child. But what good will come from jailing mum and putting her daughter in care? Surely rehab and support are what addict mums need most?

Nope fu*k that, that's child abuse and she should go to jail for it. Sorry if I feel strongly about this but my cousin's hopefully soon to be ex wife, is a pill head and she taking strong pills while being pregnant and me and my cousin are saying if that child is born addicted to opiates she's going to jail and he'll get full custody. And don't be all on her side, she's a dead beat user, she played him and used him the entire relationship and fu*ked his life up. It's a long story. If thats the case the mother should go to jail if that's whats happening

Rehab and support is what you give to someone who is struggling with their own life. Jailtime is what you give to someone who is f*cking up a baby's life.

I agree with mike!
If you we're to give a child drugs you'd face a lengthy prison sentence, so what's the f-ing difference if a pregnant mother takes drugs?!
My sons mum smoked pot during the first few months of her pregnancy, I told her that if she didn't stop then I'd get the police and the social services involved.
She stopped in time but I swear if anything was wrong with joe she would definitely have been on my list to b!tch slap.
As for mothers taking drugs while pregnant, just shows how much they love their child to be and not only do I think that they should go to prison, but I think the kid should either go to another Member of the family, or be adopted by a family who can't have kids and DON'T do drugs.

I agree if a mother knowingly takes drugs of any kind unless prescribed by a doctor then yes she is committing child abuse! Righ now on tv here there ate commercials from law firms that if u were prescribed such n such drug while pregnant n it caused ur baby to be born with birth defects or was born dead then contact n u maybe comebsated in such n such lawsuit, so if that is happening then why not jail mothers who put their unborn child at risk by taking drugs while they r pregnant ?? I say YES put them in jail n give the child to a family member or let the child be adopted!!

I disagree with jailing a mother for that.. they need help getting off the stuff and staying off it. nonprescription drugs aren't the only drugs that can harm an unborn child. I was prescribed an antibiotic while pregnant with my son because i had bronchitis. It was a relatively safe 1. Because of that antibiotic my son needed a life saving stomach operation at 5 and a half weeks old. Does that mean i belong in jail? no it doesn't... without knowing the mothers situation and how and why they got hooked we r making ourselves no better then anyone else by judging and attempting to increase the burden on tax payers like myself

I'm sorry to hear about your son and I hope he's okay now.
Yes there are prescribed drugs that can harm your baby but if your doc is a good doc then he won't prescribe them!!.
As for helping the mother, well if she injures the baby or kills the baby then she can get all the help she needs while in custody for murder

@Notlikeothers: yes 11 years later my son is fine as for blaming the doctor i also disagree with that my son could have died while in my woom if i hadn't sought medical treatment and the only other options for medical treatment would have killed me and my son.. from my point of view i did the right thing by choosing for both me and,him to live.. why wait til something happens to a child ti do something when it can be prevented by getting them the help they need right now.. i mean who's to say if you get a woman in that type of situation the right help that they won't be able to turn their life around and be a better person and parent because of it... why destroy lives when they can be saved if given the chance

@simplyme123: True, if its going to save your life and the unborn child then yes there shouldn't be an issue with that. But I think what james was going for here, is if say a pregnant mother is using illegal drugs like crysral meth or crack or even in my cousin's wife's situation ie popping high end pain killers and abusing them should the mother go to jail then, I say yes they should, it's child abuse, would you disagree then if the mother is taking these sort of drugs while pregnant?

Again I'm sorry to hear that and glad your both ok, but I don't think we're talking about prescribed drugs here.
In england its like this:
If you shake a baby you go to jail
If you your neglect your baby you go to jail
If you give your child drugs or alcohol you go to jail
So tell me, would it be perfectly OK for a woman to knowingly take unprescribed drugs (ie: meth, crack ect)
While she knows she's pregnant?
I think not.
Hey just be great full I'm not in charge it would be an eye for an eye: you brain damage a kid, you get brain damaged!