Drug Use While Pregnant a Punishable Crime in Tennessee

For some reason, Tennessee is currently the only state that has made drug use while pregnant a punishable crime. In an effort to cut down on drug use throughout the state, House Bill 1295 has been passed; allowing potential jail time for expectant mothers who use illegal drugs during their pregnancy, in turn, harming their child.

From the year 1999 to 2010, the amount of newborns born dependent on drugs continued to rise. For this reason, Tennessee passed the first bill that makes drug abuse while pregnant a prosecutable crime. However, there are many people that oppose the bill’s passing, stating that it will inevitably lower the rates of women seeking addiction treatment and only target low-income and minority women.

Governor Bill Haslam did his best to relieve concerns by stating that, “I understand the concerns about this bill, and I will be monitoring the impact of the law through regular updates with the court system and health professionals.”

While jail time may be avoided by enrolling in a drug treatment program, the same options will most likely not be offered to low-income women.

Because of this very reason, Mike Bell, one of the Senate Republicans who voted against the bill, expresses that, “there’s no treatment facility for these women there, and it would be a substantial drive for a woman caught in one of these situations to go to an approved treatment facility. Looking at the map of the state, there are several areas where this is going to be a problem.”