Essay
Essay The use of illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy and other amphetamines pose a risk to the health of both the pregnant woman and her baby. Drugs cause a risk of premature birth, birth of a child with low birth weight, development of withdrawal syndrome, birth defects, and abnormalities in the child's mental development (Boyd & Bee, 2015). Prosecution against women for the use of illicit drugs during pregnancy has occurred in thirty states. During the 1980s, a new criminal justice trend appeared: pregnant women who had used drugs and gave birth to drug-exposed babies were found guilty ...