We have chosen to send pregnant drug users to jail and prison, even though that is the worst choice if one is interested in fetal health, instead of expanding drug treatment slots, which has been shown to have a major impact on improving fetal health. However, when asked about drug treatment, policymakers keep saying it is too expensive. It is less expensive than the alternative but we lack the political will to do what is necessary and we will be bearing the costs of these decision for decades to come. In a similar vein, I examine our spending on special needs adoptions, foster care and other programs for children and show there is an inverse relationship between the stringency of abortions laws in a state and spending on needy and vulnerable children after birth. Again, it is a question more of political will than economic cost.
Rhetoric is cheap but programs actually cost money.
The media response has been overwhelming. Even though the book is not coming out until later this month, the stud has been written up in more than forty newspapers. Equally interesting to me is the way that reporters have tried to pigeon hole me and my research. I have no desire to be inflammatory. The findings speak for themselves.