NAPW, along with 11 other organizations and 27 individual experts, submitted an Open Letter to the Madison County, Indiana prosecutor, asking him to drop felony charges against a woman who experienced a stillbirth at home. An Indiana woman who experienced a pregnancy loss is being prosecuted for feticide and involuntary manslaughter, based on her alleged drug use while pregnant.
NAPW's Work
Read About All of Our Legal Advocacy, Public Education, and Organizing Work
NAPW Open Letter to Oklahoma DA opposing targeted prosecutions of pregnant people (Sept. 2018)
Oklahoma District Attorney Craig Ladd publicly announced [in December 2017] that he is calling for the increased prosecution of women who are pregnant and alleged to have used controlled substances, despite his knowledge that such prosecutions are not legally supported.
NY: Rinat Dray v. Staten Island University Hospital et al. (Supreme Court Appellate Division 2d Dep’t)
December 21, 2018
NY: Rinat Dray v. Staten Island University Hospital et al. (Supreme Court Appellate Division 2d Dep't)
NAPW files legal brief supporting the right of all people, including pregnant women, to medical privacy
NAPW is in the Ohio Supreme Court supporting a young woman charged with homicide after experiencing a stillbirth. For now, the issue is whether her confidential statements to her doctors while she was pregnant can be admitted into evidence against her at trial.
NAPW Senior Staff Attorney Amber Khan presents on the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to a New York State Department of Health workgroup
In December 2018, NAPW Senior Staff Attorney Amber Khan delivered a presentation to the AIDS Institute’s state-wide Women Who Use Drugs Workgroup, part of the New York State Department of Health, on the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) and its connection to pregnancy and drug use.
“Criminalizing Pregnancy: Policing Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs in the USA” (Amnesty International)
December 19, 2018
NAPW’s work is highlighted in this important Amnesty International report. Click here to access Amnesty International’s report: "Criminalizing Pregnancy: Policing Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs in the USA".
Over the course of three years, Amnesty International analyzed US criminal prosecutions of women who are pregnant and alleged to use drugs.
Victory in Arkansas
The long and twisted prosecution of Anne Bynum has finally been resolved without a new trial and without a conviction for any crime.
In 2015, Arkansas law enforcement officials apparently believed that Anne Bynum had taken steps to have an abortion at home.
Victory in Indiana
On September 20, 2018, feticide and involuntary manslaughter charges were dismissed against Kelli Driskel. In December of 2017, Ms. Driskel went to the emergency room after experiencing a stillbirth at home. An autopsy was later performed on the fetal remains and the cause of death was determined to be placental abruption with "acute methamphetamine intoxication" listed as a contributing factor.
“Pregnant Drug Users, Fetal Persons, and The Threat to Roe v. Wade” by Lynn M. Paltrow
"Pregnant Drug Users, Fetal Persons, and The Threat to Roe v. Wade" by Lynn M. Paltrow
November 15, 2018
Click here to access the full article: "Pregnant Drug Users, Fetal Persons, and The Threat to Roe v. Wade" by Lynn M. Paltrow, published in Albany Law Review [Vol.
“The War On Drugs And The War On Abortion: Some Initial Thoughts On The Connections, Intersections And The Effects” By Lynn M. Paltrow
November 15, 2018
Click here to access the full article: "The War On Drugs And The War On Abortion: Some Initial Thoughts On The Connections, Intersections And The Effects" by Lynn M. Paltrow, published in Southern University Law Review [Vol. 28.3, 2001, p. 201].