Every few years we are told about a new “drug plague” in
which the drug use of pregnant women supposedly dooms their children – unless,
of course, we take the children away. The media said it about crack, and they
were wrong. They said it about methamphetamines and they were wrong. Now
there’s a new epidemic of hype around pregnant women who use drugs both legal
and illegal, from heroin to prescription painkillers. Those stories are wrong,
too. ...
Whenever we try to take a swing at “bad mothers” the
blow lands on the children. We know there are better answers — and if we really
care about the children, we’ll turn to those answers instead.
Read the full column on the Reuters opinion page here.
