Without Governor Haslams veto today, Tennessee will enact the first law in the nation expressly criminalizing pregnancy. Although local prosecutors and state legislators have talked it up as a way to help with substance dependency in pregnancy, SB 1391 would make any miscarriage or newborn health problem possible cause for a criminal investigation. Under this vaguely written law, any unlawful behavior -- Did you remember to buckle your seat-belt last time you were in a car? -- becomes fair game and could allow prosecutors to press felony assault charges for a pregnancy outcome. SB 1391 misses the mark on even substance dependency so badly that it makes no allowances for lack of access to addiction treatment programs and rules out federally recommended treatments for narcotics dependency. We know already from the misuse of other laws that prosecutors have stretched to criminalize pregnancy outcomes, that the women hurt most by this will be women of color and those who cant afford months of private medical care. They will be pulled away from their families, sometimes while grieving a tragic loss, and pressed into the harsh machinery of the courts and prisons. Even President Obamas head of drug control policy agrees that criminalization is an unproductive approach to treating substance abuse disorders. Tennessee families need your voice on this. Please call Governor Haslam today to tell him that youre counting on his veto of SB 1391. Call Governor Haslam: (615) 741-2001 option #4 Leave this message: Governor Haslam, my name is _______. Please do not let Tennessee become the first state to criminalize pregnancy, against the advice of the medical profession. There are better ways to help new families get the health care they need. Do the right thing and veto SB 1391. Thank you! THANKS!
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 18:36:49 +0000
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