We don't think so. The scourge of prenatal drug and alcohol exposure jeopardizing the health and safety of newborn infants demands serious solutions, not Faustian bargains such as the one launched last year in Anaheim, California and being promoted to drug addicts throughout the Southland. The ACLU of Southern California and numerous medical and drug treatment professionals oppose this incentive program because it uses financial coercion to induce female drug addicts to surrender control over their reproductive choices at a time when they are not able to offer truly informed consent. Further, this unsound and coercive proposal diverts scarce support and funding from accessible treatment and maintenance programs to keep women drug-free.
Desperate addicts use desperate means to support their habits.
The underlying problems fueling substance abuse are not addressed. Real solutions include directing substance abusers to recovery and aftercare programs. Compelling poor pregnant women to forego their future childbearing choices will not eradicate the problem of substance abuse. Female addicts need accessible and affordable treatment for addiction, not financial exploitation. A poor woman with few financial options is likely to surrender her reproductive choices along with her most basic privacy rights.