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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri lawmaker is proposing that the state make it a crime for a woman to use drugs while pregnant in an effort he says could encourage women to seek treatment but that opponents say could do the opposite.
Rep. Jered Taylor, a Republican from Nixa, said his bill is intended to get women into treatment before they give birth. He said the bill could push offenders into drug court, where their sentences would be deferred if they completed treatment.
But threatening pregnant women with legal penalties could drive them away from seeking health care, said Farah Diaz-Tello, a spokeswoman for National Advocates for Pregnant Women. She said some women left Tennessee, which appears to be the only state with such a law, rather than risk arrest.
Missouri's legislative session starts Wednesday.
Taylor's proposal would make it a misdemeanor to use any controlled substance while a woman "reasonably should have known" she was pregnant. If a pregnant woman's drug use results in death before or after birth, she could face a felony charge of "abuse of an unborn child."
Judges would also have the option to refer women to drug courts or other court-approved drug treatment programs.
Taylor sponsored a similar bill last session that passed a House committee but didn't make it to the floor for further debate.
Taylor said that while it's possible such a law could deter women from seeking health care or split a mother from her child, "that's definitely something I don't want to happen."
Instead, he said he hopes his bill increases awareness about drug use and pregnancy, adding that it's particularly a problem in southwest Missouri. The babies "scream and scream until the drugs are out of there system," Taylor said.
The legislation would not require drug screenings of pregnant women, Taylor said.
Currently, medical staff worried about the health and safety of a newborn — even if they have concerns that don't meet the criteria for abuse or neglect — can file a report to Missouri's Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline Unit, said Rebecca Woelfel, a spokeswoman for Missouri's Department of Social Services. A physician or law enforcement officer can place the child in temporary protective custody if the child might be in immediate danger.
In 2014, Tennessee became the first and so far the only state to pass a law criminalizing drug use during pregnancy, according to a December 2015 report from the Guttmacher Institute, a research center that supports abortion rights.
Alabama and South Carolina's supreme courts have upheld criminal convictions charging women with criminal child abuse for using drugs while pregnant, according to the report, and 18 states consider pregnant drug use to be child abuse under civil statutes.
Legislators in some states propose criminalizing drug use during pregnancy nearly every year but usually fail, Diaz-Tello said.
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