Fetal protection in Wisconsin's revised child abuse law: right goal, wrong remedy.
Authors examine Wisconsin's recent revision of its child abuse and protection laws to address substance abuse by pregnant women. The new statute enables the state to take the fetus into protective custody. Authors argue that approaching fetal protection using a child abuse model creates a series of symbolic, conceptual, and practical problems of such severity as to undermine its justifiability as a public health measure.
De Ville
K A
KA
Department of Medical Humanities, East Carolina University School of Medicine, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Kopelman
L M
LM
D002649:Child Abuse / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006040:Goals; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D037141:Mandatory Programs; D009357:Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects*; D035501:Uncertainty; D014922:Wisconsin
D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs