Women who give birth to addicted babies cannot be prosecuted under Maryland's reckless-endangerment laws, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.

The Washington Post reported Aug. 4 that prosecutors wanted to use the law to prosecute women in order to protect children, but opponents said that pregnant women needed treatment, not prison.

"Imprisonment is not only the most costly thing the state could do, it's the most family-destructive thing the state could do," said Lynn Paltrow of National Advocates for Pregnant Women.

The case before the court involved Kelly Lynn Cruz, who gave birth to a cocaine-addicted baby in 2005 and later was convicted of reckless endangerment. "We're talking about unlawful activity, use of a narcotic substance," said Talbot County state attorney Scott Patterson, who used the law to prosecute a total of five mothers.

But the state court ruled this week that such prosecutions could lead to charges on any number of potentially dangerous activities undertaken by pregnant women.