A Pregnant Woman's Right - Case Study Example

The question about whether the pregnant women are answerable for letting their unborn children in jeopardy is still not clear. It must be of great concern, how the situations in which foetuses are exposed to varying risks are dealt with by the society. Petitioner argues that the state legislature has the right to charge pregnant drug-using women for the increased risks that pose on the unborn children. This action is targeting the women who use illegal drugs during pregnancy. It has also been argued that this law can be widely extended.

This can include to punish those pregnant women who are indulge in authorized behaviours like doing smoking and drinking that can cause harm to the foetus (Russell, 2006). Under this law, without the consent of the pregnant women, few of the hospitals in American states are regularly testing their urine for drugs. This act of the hospitals has put the mothers in constant inconvenience as they complain that this violates the constitutional right to privacy. Therefore, if the hospitals do not stop this act, these women, because of their addiction, will stay away from their health care advisors.

Thus, the fear of being in jail will put both the mother and their baby in a great danger. Moreover, the thought of punishment will make the women lose their trust in healthcare providers; especially since after the doctors have moved their focus to ‘punish’ the addicted mother instead of doing their treatment. As a heath care administrator I have seen that because of the fear of persecution, some of addict mothers look for late-term abortions instead of delivering a baby with the signs of drug abuse (Cline, 2011).

Through this, mothers can expose their babies towards the potential risk of getting affected. Another way by which the mothers can expose their babies to risk is multiple births. In this process, mothers use fertility drugs to have babies. These multiple births put the mothers’ as well as the foetuses’ health in danger. Over stimulation of the ovaries can lead mothers to heart failure, and when the mother is carrying many foetuses, it can end up with fatal blood clots and miscarriages. On the other hand, the children could be premature or very small after birth, or may experience developmental risk.

Moreover, as a health care administrator, I have seen that such activities result in stillbirths, or at times the baby can even die in a few weeks after birth (Capron, 1998). In such situations, when women are using artificial fertilizing techniques they are putting themselves, as well as their foetuses, in danger. However, they are not punished. On the other hand, when women are using drugs, they are doing it habitually; their purpose is not to harm the foetuses. However, if the drug user mothers will not see their doctor, because of the persecution fear, then they would be harming their health as well as the health of the foetuses.

In my opinion if, with the help of doctors and nurses, the mothers are punished, through prosecution, it will not combat the problem, and certainly, it does not appear to have sound moral basis. Therefore, if the intention of the mother is not clear they should not be punished for exposing their foetus to risk. References Capron, M. A., 1998. Punishing mothers. 28. Accessed on 18th March 2011 from http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst?docId=5002284214 Cline, A. 2011. Drug use and Fetal Abuse.

Accessed on 18th March 2011 from http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/phil/blphil_ethbio_fetalabuse.htm Russell, L. 2006. Should Pregnant Women Be Punished for Exposing Fetuses to Risk? Accessed on 18th March 2011 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/78359/should_pregnant_women_be_punished_for.html