Federal Judge Strikes Down Wisconsin 'Cocaine Mom Law'

MADISON, WI — A federal judge has blocked Wisconsin's "cocaine mom law" — a law that had given authorities in the state the ability to detain pregnant women suspected of drug use.

According to a Wisconsin State Journal report, U.S. District Court Judge James Peterson ruled Tuesday that the law is void, stating that the threshold for law enforcement to become involved with a pregnant woman suspected of drug use was vague.

Wisconsin's Law

Wisconsin's "cocaine mom law" was enacted in 1998 and gives state power over expectant mothers who have either used or are currently using alcohol or a controlled substance.

Supporters of the law believe Wisconsin officials took the existing legal framework of the state to protect against child abuse and unborn children.

Opponents of the law see it as unconstitutional for a number of reasons, including a woman's right to privacy and medical decision-making. Medical health professionals, opponents say, stress treatment as opposed to incarceration, where many expectant mothers can find it difficult to have access to the health care they need.

According to a Journal Sentinel report, women suspected of current or past drug use could be held in custody and subjected to involuntary medical treatment. Social workers can initiate confidential legal action in children's court; lawyers get appointed for a woman's fetus.

The First Case

According to lxbn.com, Wisconsin's "Cocaine Mom" law came into effect during a case in which a pregnant woman went to the hospital because she suspected she was pregnant. The woman did not have health care and had been self-medicating her condition using meth and marijuana.

The report indicated that although the woman stopped using controlled substances when she learned she was pregnant, the hospital staff passed her medical information to authorities, who was ultimately brought before the court and sentenced to jail.

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