Mandatory Testing of Pregnant Women and Newborns: HIV, Drug Use, and Welfare Policy

Authors

Wendy Chavkin, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Clinical Public Health, Columbia University, Center for Population and Family Health.
Deborah Elman, MPH, MIA, Columbia University, Center for Population and Family Health.
Paul H. Wise, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine.

Abstract

An emerging strand of thought portrays pregnant women with drug addiction and HIV infection as having a willful hostility towards their fetus. As a result, pregnant mothers with HIV or addictions are confronted with decreased funding for services and increased sanctions for positive toxicology tests. The rhetoric of blame towards “deviant” mothers has escalated to embrace poor mothers in general. However, in order to support the babies, their mothers must be supported as well.

Recommended Citation

Wendy Chavkin, Deborah Elman, and Paul H. Wise, Mandatory Testing of Pregnant Women and Newborns: HIV, Drug Use, and Welfare Policy, 24 Fordham Urb. L.J. 749 (1997).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/ulj/vol24/iss4/9