It seems like a convenient way to test the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade, as if the bill is contested, the issue of legal abortion will certainly arise in the appellate courts, perhaps even in the Supreme Court. But even if abortion does not become the primary focus of the bills proponents and opponents, the bill also raises the troubling civil rights issue of special litigation that penalizes substance-abusing women who can become pregnant more than women who cannot, or men. I understand that some members of the hospital staff are hopeful that the bill will enable some women to enter drug treatment more easily. However, as no additional funding for such treatment is provided in the bill, it seems likely that many pregnant women will be sent to prison, as if they cannot enter a treatment program, drug treatment in prison is their only option. I would also remind proponents of the bill of the high recidivism rate of individuals who are forced to enter into a treatment program.

Finally, from a medical standpoint, it is worth remembering that women who are substance abusers often have underweight babies...

Their children also suffer because of a lack of support after the woman gives birth. A child of a woman struggling with drug abuse requires nutritious food, a mother with a stable job and place to live, and pre-K academic support to flourish. Remediating the problems faced by the children of drug-abusing women post-natally is just as essential as trying to prevent drug abuse prenatally. To help such women, they must see healthcare providers as their friends, not as part of the prison system.
This bill will alienate women from the healthcare system, rather than connect mothers to social support and services. The consequences of this for their offspring will be grave. At best this bill will merely prevent a very small number of women from using drugs during pregnancy, but will do little to turn them into 'clean' mothers with offspring who have appropriate support during their critical first years of life.