skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

MO Child Abuse Bill Might Not be Deterrent to Moms' Drug Use

play audio
Play

Wednesday, March 2, 2016   

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A Missouri mother could be charged with child abuse for using drugs during pregnancy, under House Bill 1903. She'd face misdemeanor charges if the child is hurt, and a felony if the baby died as a result of her drug use.

Christi Power, who heads the nonprofit "Preferred Family Health," a statewide program for treatment of substance abuse or mental-health issues, said she understands that the point of the legislation is to protect unborn babies, but thinks it could backfire, making women who are addicted too afraid to see a doctor.

"You've got moms that are already frightened, worried that their babies are going to be removed when they go see their doctors," she said. "And then you add this punishment on top of that, and then you've got them really not seeking the medical services that they might need, or seeking the substance-abuse services that might keep them clean throughout their pregnancy."

The legislation has been referred to a House committee, but no hearing date has been set. The bill's author, Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, expects it to come up before the session ends in mid-May.

Power said using drugs already is illegal, and adding charges against a mom who abuses won't solve the problem.

"They're not thinking, 'Oh, I want to harm my child.' They have a substance use disorder," she said, "where their brain has changed, how they function changed, due to their use."

Power said she believes drug abuse is on the rise in Missouri and calls the heroin problem in the state "an epidemic." Getting these women into treatment and figuring out what's triggering the abuse is crucial, she said.

"Whether they've decided to use because it's a coping skill. Do they have trauma in their history? Is this the only way they've been able to wake up every day and go on with their life? We don't know those answers," she said.

Details of HB 1903 are online at house.mo.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021