Controversy erupted in the Alabama House Committee on Health this week…
…over a bill presented that would require doctors to report their pregnant female patients within 2 hours if they suspect them of using drugs. Under existing Alabama law, doctors are already required to notify authorities after a pregnant woman or newborn tests positive for drugs, as one of just a few states in the country to arrest and prosecute pregnant women for drug use.
Critics say the proposed amendment could discourage women from seeking prenatal care and damage the patient-doctor relationship, particularly for addicts. Others find the lack of specificity in the law troubling: only suspicion of drug use is needed to report a patient, which could lead to racial proofing and disproportionate prosecution.
Rep. Mack Butler, who proposed the bill, says he is open to making some changes He says that the law’s goal is not to put mothers in jail, but to get them help and treatment. The Etowah County Sheriff’s Department has already partnered with Aletheia House in Birmingham to provide treatment instead of prosecution. The 2 hour requirement could be increased to 24, and the bill’s wording may amend “suspicion” to “reasonable suspicion,” but if the bill does not pass, Butler may be committed enough to introduce it again in the next session.