How the Drug War Harms 'Unborn Children'

"...researchers found that prenatal care providers were not comfortable talking with their patients about dealing with drug and alcohol abuse in spite of routinely mentioning health risks of such behavior on the unborn infant" largely due to the fact that "'Pregnant women are sensitive about being asked about substance abuse and some health-care providers may feel that talking about these issues will compromise the provider-patient relationship, however, the evidence suggests that the benefits of a frank discussion about substance abuse far outweigh the costs to the relationship,' said Dr. Frankel, a medical sociologist."

I wonder why pregnant women may be reluctant to talk about substance abuse with their doctors. Could it be because they fear having their children taken away from them by police?

Of course, the results of this study shouldn't shock any supporters of the Drug Policy Alliance, which already has an excellent write-up on the effects this fear has on the potential health of unborn children and their mothers. Fear of prosecution apparently does not deter drug use, but it does deter them from seeking prenatal care and treatment.