Rehabilitation Vs. Prison: The Pregnant Addict

Rehabilitation vs. Prison: The Pregnant Addict

Imagine a woman pregnant and in prison. She is in prison because she is an avid drug abuser. She has no family, no emotional or psychological support and most importantly she has no hope. This woman has spent most of her life in and out of prison, and unfortunately she delivered eight drug-addicted children in prison. The mother is still in prison; the children are now a part of the system. This is a true story.
Everyday thousands of babies are being born in prison to drug and alcohol addicted mothers. This is an epidemic that is commonly overlooked in today’s society. We must ask ourselves; is prison really the solution for pregnant addicts? How to deal with pregnant addicts is a delicate situation that should be addressed by placing pregnant addicts in rehabilitation centers rather then in prisons. Rehabilitating pregnant addicts is more beneficial and effective for the mother and her unborn child than prison is.
There are many reasons pregnant addicts should not be placed in prison with other addicts.
The most important reason prison is not an ideal place for pregnant addicts is placing a pregnant addict in prison will, in most cases, make the problem worse or leave the problem unchanged because they are not given a chance to be rehabilitated. Drug abuse has been linked to psychological and emotional problems. Pregnant addicts usually have to deal with pre-partum depression, poverty, lack of education, and a host of other economic and social issues. Many times these problems are effectively treated with counseling, therapy, educational training, moral support and medication to help wean patients off of drugs. Pregnant addicts do not have the benefits of these necessary rehabilitation services, as a result, some will never kick their habit and others will only get
worse.
Secondly, pregnant mothers require special prenatal care that is not usually available to them in prison. Prison conditions are usually unsanitary, the spaces are cramped and the environment is dangerous. Pregnant addicts are forced to share small prison cells, their beds are usually hard and uncomfortable and they have no privacy when using the restroom or taking a bath.
Thirdly, prison destroys any chance a pregnant addict may have at keeping her child. The justice system does not allow a pregnant addict to keep her child. Usually the child is turned over to foster care or another relative. Prison is obviously not beneficial for a mother or her unborn child. Rehabilitation centers are more effective for solving the problem of pregnant addicts. Rehabilitation centers will provide addicts with proper treatment and medical attention. Mothers will be given therapy and counseling to help them find the root of their drug addiction. Additionally, mothers are provided proper prenatal care that includes staffed nurses and doctors and private spacious rooming. Rehabilitation centers also provide educational classes that teach the mothers how to care for their child. Many times the centers will help mothers find a job and find them suitable living space for them and their children. More importantly, mothers are allowed to keep their children. Unlike the justice system, parents are allowed to keep their children subject to periodic monitoring of the mother and child that is reinforced by continual support for the mother and the child.
In closing, some moralists argue that an addict is an addict, pregnant or not. They may support the position that “If a crime is committed then justice shall be served no matter who you are or what condition you are in.” However, this is not how society operates, a completely healthy person is not sent to the hospital and a sick person is not sent to prison. When mentally insane people are charged with murder they are given the benefit of medical evaluation and if they are found to be mentally unstable they are confined to a treatment facility. Like mental instability, drug addiction, according to many scholars is a disease that deserves medical evaluation and treatment.