Many of us are use to hearing about the "War on Drugs" or Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), but not every day we hear about groups trying to stop mothers from killing their unborn child. The method that these mothers are using to kill or permanently hurt their unborn child is by using drugs during their pregnancy. Should these women go to jail for murdering or should they get help and pretend that nothing happened? Like every situation in our life, we must do what is right, and we must fight for what we know is right.

Paul A. Logli, a prosecutor for the state of Illinois argues that it is the government's duty to enforce health of unborn fetuses, and that the mothers of these victims should be prosecuted. One of his views is that drugs are addictive and that legal and illegal drugs harm not only the unborn child but the mother as well. Some times these types of drugs won't kill the fetus but it will affect him/her for remainder of their life (Logli, 84).

A 1988 survey of hospitals showed that as many as 375,000 infants may be affected by maternal cocaine use during their pregnancy each year. More recently a study at a hospital in Detroit showed that 42.7 percent of its n

Dr. Israel, a long time friend and the pediatrician of my daughters answered a few questions that I presented. He touched bases on the fact that drug users are not all the time under the abuse of drugs, and that babies will go through a withdrawal stage and it usually takes from one to two weeks. He said that many of these infants would behave better with their mothers than with another family member. A quote from a document from the internet reiterated: "The studies, 'part of a long-range tracking of crack babies,' found that 'those children aren't more prone to birth defects, and they develop better with their natural mothers -- who used drugs while pregnant -- than they develop with other relatives or in foster homes." ("Pregnancy and Drug Use").

We are glad to see that Jennifer Johnson did not have the same outcome that Melanie Green had. Jennifer Johnson was convicted for Delivery of Controlled Substance to a Child and was sentenced to 15 years of probation including strict supervision. The judge made his determination after he heard the Assistant State's Attorney point out that Mrs. Johnson had previously given birth to three other cocaine affected babies, and was previously arrested at a crack-house (Logli, 88).

The biggest issue about charging someone is the legal way to charge a person. Fetal Abuse vs. Child Abuse, the issue in charging someone with child abuse is that not everyone is sure about the assimilation of both phrases. The most complicated issue is the one regarding the fetus. Is the fetus considered a child or not? The problem with this is that every state has different clauses and even different laws. In one state it might be a crime but at another state it might just be a small penalty where the only punishment is the pointing of fingers from citizens of the community. There are also many types of child abuse. Even the danger of our environment can cause a potential peril to the fetus and even small children. Another way of viewing this point is by acknowledging the fact that many conditions on the part of the pregnant woman could harm a fetus. Not eating well, using prescription drugs, or nonprescription drugs, engaging in sexual intercourse, exercising, or even drinking to much coffee could have an effect to the fetus (Mahan, 95).

Why does one have to wait for the same crime to repeat itself three or four times? Personally I find this a little bit invalid. It is difficult to see this problem one time, but three and four times just doesn't do it. A professional should evaluate a person who uses drugs during their pregnancy, and if she is able to reduce her drug intake to a maximum level, then she should be evaluated at least once a month there after. If she is not capable of reducing

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Approximate Word count = 1857
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)