Friday, July 3, 2015

Abortion rights: Kenlissia Jones: How the war on drugs has reached into the womb - and threatens abortion rights," by Jessica Valenti. The Guardian;


GIST:  "What does the war on drugs have to do with the war on abortion? More than you’d think: the anti-choice movement has been successfully using drug laws to give fetuses legal personhood rights for years. Today, 18 states consider drug use while pregnant to be child abuse - a standard that not only punishes pregnant women who need help, but that has profound implications for reproductive rights. Consider the case of Kenlissia Jones, a 23-year-old woman in Georgia who ordered Cytotec off the internet to end her pregnancy. We don’t know why she didn’t seek out an abortion legally (though it could be because 96% of counties in Georgia lack an abortion provider). What we do know is that, at 5 months, Jones’ pregnancy ended in the back of her neighbor’s car en route to the hospital, and that she was arrested soon after for malice murder, a crime that carries the chance of life in prison or the death penalty. The murder charge against Jones was eventually dropped; Georgia law doesn’t allow for the prosecution of women who end their own pregnancies. For most, the story ends there: reproductive rights activists were understandably relieved and the media moved on to the next story. But the one charge against her that remains – possession of a dangerous drug – underpins a dangerous anti-choice strategy that has gone ignored for too long. As Lynn Paltrow, executive director of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women told me: “if you don’t address the war on drugs, you can’t address the war on abortion.” Paltrow, whose work, in part, involves cases in which women have been arrested for using drugs while pregnant, says “my head is exploding around this.” We’ve been saying this for 15 years: if you set a precedent that a woman who tests positive for drugs is guilty of child abuse, then certainly a woman who induces abortion by drugs is guilty as well..........Already, some medical professionals are taking action. Some 15 states require health care professionals to report suspected drug use by pregnant women, but the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have come out in opposition to doctors reporting patients, noting: “seeking obstetric–gynecologic care should not expose a woman to criminal or civil penalties.” And after Jones was arrested, a local doctor filed a complaint against the hospital that treated her, citing privacy concerns and saying: “the law is designed so that people do not fail to seek medical attention for fear of being prosecuted.” But we need more than doctors protecting their patients: we need policy change, public awareness and pro-choice organizations that prioritize ending drug laws that target pregnant women. The war on drugs is racist, it criminalizes people who need help and it is attacking women’s bodily autonomy – fighting it is a core feminist issue. So let’s start acting like it."

The entire commentary can be  found at:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/30/war-on-drugs-threatens-abortion-rights

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 
 
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.

I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.
 
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;