oves us toward criminalizing pregnancy itself because no woman can provide the perfect womb. A woman should not give up her legal rights just because she chooses to become pregnant.” (Paltrow, 1989) The concept of gender discrimination is also brought into play because drug-abusing women would be getting prosecuted and drug-using male partners don’t face any type of consequences.In 1992 in the Case of Johnson v. Florida, a mother was convicted of two counts of delivering a controlled substance to another person, because of her use of cocaine during her pregnancy. The mother appealed and the Florida Supreme Court reversed the convictions. They said that they did not intend for the word “deliver” to include passage through the umbilical cord. The court stated that they realize that drug abuse is a very serious national problem, “however, prosecuting women for using drugs and “delivering” them to their newborns appears to be the least effective response to this crisis.” (Sagatun, Edwards 1995) In, 1984, a lower court in Illinois, ruled that the fetus who was five pounds at the time of the pre-natal injuries was a legal person. However, in 1988 the Illinois Supreme Court did reverse the decision and ruled that the mother cannot be prosecuted criminally.Currently South Carolina has the harshest law that pregnant women who abuse drugs or alcohol can be punishable by jail time. Attorney General of South Carolina Charlie Condon claims the 3-2 decision as “a landmark decision for protecting children.” This decision was made with the eight-year prison sentence of Cornelia Whitner, whose son tested positive for cocaine use after he was born. (Washington Times, 1996) Charlie Condon instructs prosecutors and social workers to monitor and punish pregnant women who abuse drugs. Movements like this are giving the fetus legal rights at the time of conception. A great example of what criminalizi...
