More and more American women are facing prison for allegedly harming their unborn baby by using drugs.
The issue of foetal drug exposure rose to the forefront of cultural debate in the 1980s, when the term "crack baby" began being used to describe the children born to mothers with addiction.
"The concept of personhood is actually quite simple," said Sarah Quale, president of Personhood Alliance Education, a pro-life organisation. While the organisation does not have a stance on whether the law should prosecute mothers who use drugs, Ms Quale said she personally supports measures that "protect pre-born children from the harm that occurs when a mother uses drugs while pregnant".
Tennessee tried to follow suit, passing a similar law in 2014, but the law expired two years later and was not renewed. But many of these laws are ambiguous, and leave the doors open for prosecutors to charge women whose behaviours may have contributed to a miscarriage or stillbirth. In countries where abortions are illegal, women have been arrested and charged with murder for having a miscarriage. Local authorities can accuse them of deliberately terminating their pregnancy.A woman in El Salvador was convicted of having an illegal abortion and died in jail after having a miscarriage in hospital
But the reality is far more complex, Ms Milne said. Often the women are desperate and vulnerable, and need help and support. "Drug addiction is a disease amenable to treatment rather than a criminal activity," according to the American Medical Association, which represents US doctors.
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