Bill would require treatment for addicted pregnant women

State News

March 3, 2010

By Ronnie Ellis CNHI The Richmond Register Wed Mar 03, 2010, 08:45 AM EST

FRANKFORT — There they sat, the ACLU, Right to Life and criminal defense attorneys side by side, taking the same position on legislation, strange bedfellows all opposed to a measure to test pregnant women for substance abuse.

House Bill 430, sponsored by Rep. Richard Henderson, D-Jeffersonville, would create the offense of alcohol or controlled substance endangerment of a child prior to birth and permit a court to sentence the pregnant mother to treatment for up to six months.

The bill came before the House Health and Welfare Committee Tuesday for discussion only and no action was taken.

But representatives of the three unlikely allies criticized the bill.

“Criminal penalties with jail sentences will compel some women to avoid the penalty by having an abortion,” said Michael Janocik, legislative agent for the Kentucky Right to Life Association.

“One solution for a pregnant woman to get out of the penalty would be to have an abortion and obviously we don’t want to encourage more abortions,” Janocik said.

Derek Selznick, Reproductive Freedom Project Director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill will put the legislature on a “slippery slope” which might lead to penalties for pregnant women who drink caffeine, smoke or fail to wear a seat belt in motor vehicles.

Selznick conceded pregnant women must be encouraged to adopt good pre-natal health habits, “but prosecuting them is not the answer.”

Henderson told the committee the aim of the bill is to prevent health-impaired newborns or those suffering from the effects of their mother’s substance abuse. His only purpose, he said, is to protect the child who becomes the innocent victim of his mother’s substance abuse.

Ernie Lewis of the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said that aim is “a health issue that should be dealt with in the health system and not the criminal justice system.”

Lewis said if the bill were to pass, it likely would face constitutional challenges and he cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling which found the taking of specimens from pregnant women which were then turned over to prosecutors violated the mother’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure.

“I understand the intent,” Lewis told the committee, “but for judges, doctors and lawyers to implement this would be very difficult.”

Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown, commended Henderson’s intent but suggested the bill is misguided.

“It’s a wonderful effort to do something about the problem, but I think it goes about it in the wrong way,” Lee said.

Committee Chairman Tom Burch, D-Louisville, said it would be difficult to determine at what amounts some legal substances posed danger to the fetus of a pregnant woman and said he has never seen a bill commonly opposed by Catholic bishops, ACLU, Right to Life and trial attorneys.

“It has some serious problems,” Burch said of the bill. “It seems to me the bill has a long way to go,” before it can pass out of committee.

Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort. The Richmond Register is a CNHI newspaper.

Text Only

State News

State lawmakers call for constitutional convention
With U.S. Sen. Rand Paul leading the cheers, the state Senate on Tuesday passed a resolution calling for a limited constitutional convention to pass a federal balanced budget amendment.
The vote was 22-16 — Republican Sen. Julie Denton of Louisville joined the 15 Democrats in opposing the measure — on the measure sponsored by Senate President and Republican candidate for governor David Williams. The vote followed Paul’s speech to the body and his earlier remarks to the Senate State Government Committee.

February 23, 2011
Company that blundered pollution reports will again test mining sites
The same people blamed for inaccurate pollution reports from mining sites operated by ICG Coal will be responsible for collecting samples under that company’s corrective action plan submitted to the state.
ICG and Frasure Creek Coal entered a consent decree with the state's Energy and Environment Cabinet in December after environmental groups discovered reams of inaccurate pollution reports by the two companies.

February 17, 2011
Immigration bill delay may be about political leverage
The House Local Government Committee conducted a second day of hearings on a Senate immigration bill Wednesday without taking a vote, but the delay may be about political leverage as much as it is about philosophical objections.
The hearing also got testy, when the sponsor, Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, objected to critics who have characterized the measure as racially motivated and after suggestions by one Democrat committee member that another supporter of the bill used “self-righteous and venomous” language in his testimony.

February 10, 2011
House passes immigration bill
The Democrat House overwhelmingly passed its version of immigration control Tuesday while Senate leaders tried and fell short for now to garner enough votes to pass a bill to require a prescription for cold remedies used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
The House voted 90-6 to pass HB-3, which would require employers who contract with the state and public agencies to verify the immigration status of new hires using the federal EVerify system. Those who violate the law would be prohibited from securing state contracts for one year after the first offense. A second or subsequent offense would bar contracting with the state for five years.

February 9, 2011
Payday lenders targeted for interest rates
Mary Love doesn’t look the part. A retired pastor and former employee of UPS Logistics from Oldham County, Love, 65, found herself retired, divorced and trying to live off “a small pension.” Soon, she found herself in a “debt trap.”
It began when one month she was a bit short and her rent was due. She visited a “payday lender,” and wrote a $230 check that the lender held for two weeks. She walked out with $200. But two weeks later she owed the lender $230 and still couldn’t make ends meet. This time she wrote a check for $460 and left with $400.

February 8, 2011
State settles case with Medicaid administrator
The third-party administrator for a Medicaid managed care program has agreed to pay more than $2 million in damages for falsely reporting patient results in order to secure a $700,000 bonus payment.
The settlement was the result of a nine-month investigation by the office of Attorney General Jack Conway acting on tips from a whistleblower inside AmeriHealth Mercy, the administrator for Passport Health Plan, the state-funded managed care program which serves clients from Louisville and 15 surrounding counties that has come under scrutiny by the state auditor and lawmakers. The over-reporting of positive health outcomes occurred in 2009, and the state Medicaid fraud statute allows the state to assess the company triple damages, Conway said.

January 27, 2011
Republican primary for governor grows
The Republican primary for governor grew by one on filing deadline day as expected, but Gov. Steve Beshear is getting a free pass in the Democratic primary.
Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw and her running mate, retired naval officer and high school teacher Bill Vermillion, filed candidacy papers Tuesday morning, promising a competitive race despite a late entry and delayed fundraising start.

January 26, 2011
Williams-Farmer ticket is official
FRANKFORT — Kentucky Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, and his running mate, Commissioner of Agriculture Richie Farmer, made it official Monday. They filed paperwork to run for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.

January 19, 2011
Poll: Majority favors state smoking ban
Though advocates of anti-smoking laws don’t believe a statewide smoking ban will pass in the General Assembly this year, they see public support for it and have come to the conclusion that it is time to get the discussion started.

January 14, 2011
Lawmakers consider requiring prescriptions for meth precursors
FRANKFORT — Kentucky ranks No. 3 among 50 states in the number of reported meth labs, which is why lawmakers are considering legislation that would require a prescription to purchase such meth precursors as ephedrine or pseudoephedrine.

January 14, 2011 1 Photo
More State News Headlines

State News

Search Results

Bill would require treatment for addicted pregnant women

Have you ever attended a meeting of a local government agency or taxing district?

Site Map