Jonathon Morris, U.S. Army Ranger, Ret. and Rowan County Rescue Rancher
♦ In Rowan County and especially in Salisbury, N.C. where a major narcotics pandemic is raging out of control, it was great to learn yesterday that a bill is being co-sponsored by Senator Andrew Brock and filed on Tuesday. It’s called “An Act to Create the Criminal Offense of Prenatal Narcotic Drug Use”, and the only thing surprising to me was that our State didn’t already have “criminal prenatal narcotic drug use” laws on the books. Here in Rowan and Salisbury, meth, crack, and heroin are off the charts. It affects everyone through all this spiraling crime–worst of all it affects babies. Thank you Senator Andrew Brock.
The meat of the bill states, “A woman may be prosecuted for assault under NCGS 14-33(a) for the illegal use of a narcotic drug as defined in NCGS 90-87, while pregnant, if her child is born addicted to or harmed by the narcotic drug and the addiction or harm is a result of her illegal use of a narcotic drug taken while pregnant.” “Narcotic” includes opium, opiates, and opium poppy, salts or derivatives, and cocaine and any of its derivatives.” I’m disappointed that “glue huffers” and meth addicts get a free ride, at least in the first draft of this law.
Before I wrote this, my wife and I had a long conversation. I was concerned about the reaction of the “my body, my choice” crowd to this new law. But according to my wife, any woman with an ounce of maternal instincts and self-respect would never “choose” to torment her unborn child by subjecting him or her to the drug-induced stupor of an existence she put herself through. And if she lacks self-respect or discipline, perhaps the State could open prenatal confinement “institutions”. After all, the price of three hots and a cots for a drug addict that gets knocked up is a heck of a lot less costly to the taxpayers than the daily cost of ‘step-down’ addiction treatment in a neonatal ICU ward, where the child must be kept for 2 to 3 months, at the expense of an already indebted Medicaid program!
I admire and salute Senator Brock for co-sponsoring this new criminal punishment for Prenatal Drug Use. But I’d recommend some compassion to be added to the bill. If the new “mom” can come to her sentencing hearing with proof she’s been SEWN SHUT, and can’t subject future babies to her pathetic excuse for motherhood, then she should have some time taken off her prison sentence. May I recommend 9 months?
I ask y’all to share my letter on Facebook and in emails and to write your state lawmakers in support of “An Act to Create the Criminal Offense of Prenatal Narcotic Drug Use”!
