Colo.: Should Addicted Moms Be Treated or Punished? March 11, 2005
News Summary
Giving birth to a baby born addicted to illicit drugs is a form of child abuse, Colorado lawmakers agreed, but what to do about the problem remains a bone of contention, the Associated Press reported March 10.The child-abuse measure won approval from both the state House and Senate, but Senate members balked at a provision that would have allowed judges to terminate parental rights of mothers who failed in treatment before giving birth. Some said it would put too much strain on the state's foster-care system. And Sen. Lois Tochtrop (D-Thornton) argued that the goal should be to keep families together, and that sometimes people need more than one shot at treatment to break their addiction.
"It doesn't mean they're unfit; it means they're dealing with something that most of us can't understand," Tochtrop said.
The head of the Family Treatment Court in El Paso County agreed, saying that continued treatment is the best option because untreated addicts can continue to have children even if the courts take away custody of one. Magistrate Regina Walter said the punitive nature of the original bill was unlikely to have a deterrent effect. "I just think that when you're using methamphetamine and when you're a young mom you don't make that cost-benefit analysis," she said.
But Sen. Mark Hillman (R-Burlington) argued, "If a case where you have an incorrigible drug-using parent, you should spare the child any further exposure to that environment."
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