Under the law, anyone is free to report a pregnant woman who is a severe and chronic abuser of drugs or alcohol. However, no one is required to report. The legislature also made sure that pregnant women will receive priority in getting treatment, Huelsman said. We took them up on that suggestion. The cocaine mom bill redirects our AODA treatment priorities.
Pregnant women are now the top priority.
The societal costs of alcohol and drug abuse during pregnancy justify the bill, said Huelsman. Unfortunately, Wisconsin has the single highest reported rate of drinking by women of child-bearing age. Between 200 and 300 children are born each year in Wisconsin with either fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol effect, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. On May 22, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that five of 34 cocaine-related deaths in Milwaukee last year were infants whose mothers had abused cocaine during pregnancy. Angela had repeatedly refused her doctor's pleas to stop using cocaine and also had repeatedly refused offers of treatment.