A Labour party member of the Scottish Parliament has proposed linking social benefits to a pledge by drug addicts not to have children until they are clean and sober, the BBC reported July 9.

Legislator Duncan McNeil said that people addicted to drugs should be compelled to sign a "social contract" not to have children; those who sign would get benefits, but would lose them if they violate the agreement. The proposal will be studied by the Scottish Labour party at a November conference.

Susan Dean of the Scottish Drugs Forum said the proposal "dehumanizes people who are in need of help and support simply because their problems are seen as too difficult and complex for society to deal with.

"These proposals unfairly single out drug users for 'hardline' treatment, and are completely at odds with the patient-centered approach which is a basic and accepted principle applying to other groups in need of social and health care," she said.

Stewart Stevenson, a member of the Scottish National Party, said the plan would "drive addicts out of the system and create greater problems."

Previously, McNeil proposed that methadone be spiked with contraceptives so that opiate users don't have children. In the U.S., some private groups have paid people with drug addictions to not have kids.