FACT: This law was intended to help reduce neonatal abstinence syndrome, but reports

show that there has been no decrease in NAS cases.3

A Tennessee Department of Health report demonstrated that there were more cases in the first full year of

the law (2015) than in the prior year.4

FACT: There is not enough treatment overall, but especially for pregnant mothers.

The Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drugs and Other Addiction Services

completed an analysis of the state’s drug treatment programs in December of 2015.

They found that waiting lists for care can have hundreds and even over 1000 people

on them at any given time. Only 11 of the 39 licensed residential detoxification

programs in TN will accept pregnant women providing just 132 slots for all of the

people seeking treatment in those facilities. Though pregnant women are a priority for

treatment these are not set asides to ensure availability of care for pregnant women. 9

FACT: Health and drug treatment professionals have found that people are avoiding

prenatal care in fear of being arrested and jailed.

A recent report from East Tennessee Children's Hospital showed a three-fold increase in the number of

NICU admissions where mothers had not accessed prenatal care.7 This trend shows a sharp increase in the

number of women with no prenatal care after the law went into effect. This was one of the primary

concerns expressed before the law went into effect.

FACT: Women are in fact being charged and jailed.

Warrants have been issued repeatedly in several counties and women arrested

repeatedly as a result. In Shelby County, there are women who have served as much as six

months in jail. Others are still going through the drug court process and could due to other

requirements within the drug court system end up in the system.8

FACT: Many people cannot afford treatment and the fetal assault law does not provide

coverage for care.

The fetal assault law does not require that treatment be paid for or that bail and court fees be waived, so

there are women who cannot afford treatment or who are further engaged in the system because they

cannot afford the fees.

FACT: Babies are not born addicted. Some babies

who are exposed to opioids during pregnancy

experience temporary and treatable symptoms.1

NAS is not life threatening or permanent, and studies show

that newborns with NAS do not develop any differently

than other children.2 Some children experience

manageable health conditions that are likely

correlated with the lack of access to health care and proper

nutrition that many people who have used drugs face while

pregnant.

FACT: Medication assisted treatment is the

evidence based protocol for pregnant women,

which can result in both a positive drug test and

symptoms of NAS.6

Health professionals recommended

medication assisted treatment, but there

are only 12 licensed methadone centers

throughout Tennessee and they do not

accept TennCare or other health insur-

ance. Methadone treatment in Tennessee typically costs

$12.50 a day - more than $4,500 a year if taken daily. This

can push this treatment option out of reach for many

women.9

Bottom line: This law is not working. There may be some women who feel that the law scared them into treatment, but it is hurting far more than it is

helping! We are wasting tax dollars to jail mothers when

we could allocate those funds to expand access to licensed,

evidence based treatment services.

1-Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Pub. No. [SMA] 06-4124, Methadone Treatment for Pregnant Women (2006). 2-

American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women, Opioid Abuse, Dependence, and Addiction in Pregnancy, Committee Opinion No.

524 (May 2012). 3-Number of TN Babies Born Dependent on Drugs, WJHL (November 2015). 4-Tennessee Department of Health, Drug Dependent Newborns (Neonatal Abstinence Syn-

drome), Data through 10/31/2015. 5- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Committee on Ethics, Maternal Decision Making, Ethics, and the Law, 106 Obstetrics & Gynecol-

ogy 1127 (2005). 6-Medication-Assisted Treatment For Opioid Addiction in Opioid Treatment Programs, US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 08-4341 (2008). 7- East Tennessee Children's Hospital, No Prenatal Care Trend, Quarter One

2016. 8- Tracking of Shelby County Arrests and Time Served, Just City (February 2016). 9-Implementation of Chapter 820 and Opportunities to Address Pregnancy, Drug Use and the Law,

Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drugs and Other Addiction Services (December 2015).

Brittany Hudson,

East Tennessee: I was using drugs while

pregnant for my second child. I am not proud of

that. I tried to get treatment and was refused care

from a bunch of facilities either because they

didn’t have room or they didn’t treat pregnant

women. I heard about the new law and was

terrified that I would lose my baby and be thrown

in jail. This just made it worse. I was afraid to ask

for help and avoided prenatal care. I ended up

giving birth to my daughter on the side of the road

trying to avoid going to a hospital in Tennessee.

I am clean now and parenting my daughter, but

this experience made my recovery process that

much harder. This is a disease and you have to

treat it like a disease. Mothers need support and

care. We need policies that focus on our health

and the health of our children. We do not need

judges, jails and judgment. We don’t need our

faces in newspaper articles that push myths about

drug use and paint us as monsters. When you

throw someone behind bars for having a disease

you aren't treating them and you are not helping

them or their kids. This law needs to go. I urge

Tennessee lawmakers to look at ways to help

people. Don’t just assume the worst of us and

keep a law that treats mothers like criminals.

This information was compiled by a broad coalition of organizations working to ensure the sunset of the fetal assault law. For more

information or to be connected to any of the groups listed, please contact Karen Pershing (kpershing@metrodrug.org).

Tennessee Organizations Opposing House Bill 1660 and

Supporting the Sunset of the Tennessee Fetal Assault Law

American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN)

American Council of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) – Tennessee

Advocates for Women's And Kids' Equality (AWAKE) – Tennessee

Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWONN) -Tennessee

Children’s Hospital Alliance

Chattanooga Organized for Action

Counseling Solutions of Chatsworth

The First Year Foundation Incorporated

Healthy and Free TN

Just City

Knox County Prescription Drug Task Force

Law Students for Reproductive Justice - Vanderbilt

March of Dimes

Mercy Junction Justice and Peace Center

Metro Drug Coalition

Multidisciplinary Intensive Support Treatment (MIST)

Nashville Feminist Collective

National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW)

National Alliance for Medication Assisted (NAMA) Recovery of Tennessee

National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum – Nashville chapter

National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) – Tennessee section

Prevention Alliance of TN

Renaissance Recovery

SisterReach

Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug & other Addiction Services (TAADAS)

Tennessee Nursing Association

Women's Fund of Greater Chattanooga

Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis

Women’s Political Collaborative (WPC)

National Medical and Public Health Associations Oppose Laws that Utilize Coercion or Criminalization to

Push Treatment

American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry American Medical Association

American Council of Obstetricians and Gynecologists National Perinatal Association

American Nurses Association American Public Health Association

Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs American Psychological Association

National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence American Psychiatric Association