According to a survey of 1,000 drug users conducted by McKeganey, more than 60 percent of addicted mothers and 85 percent of addicted fathers stop caring for their children.

"We now have such a crisis in Scotland that we ought to give active consideration to paying female drug users to take long-term contraception," said McKeganey.

He said that addicted parents should be given a year to get off drugs or face having their children put up for adoption.

But the group Scotland Against Drugs said McKeganey's proposal violates basic human rights. The organization advocates for more support services.

"I think it's a bit Draconian to suggest that contraception injections should be an option when it's not known in advance whether the recipient woman would be a good or a bad parent," said Alistair Ramsey, director of the group.

Peter Kearney, a spokesman for the Catholic Church, added, "If you are going to sterilize drug-addicted women, why stop there? Why not sterilize alcoholics? This is social engineering on a massive scale and it's completely unacceptable."

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