Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina lead the nation in arresting and criminally punishing women for allegedly posing a danger to their fetuses, according to a report released by advocacy group Pregnancy Justice.
Nationwide, nearly 1,400 people were arrested or subject to disparate bail, sentencing and probation for conduct related to their pregnancies between 2005 and the Supreme Court decision in June 2022 dismantling abortion rights, the report found. The vast majority were poor, white women, although poor Black women were disproportionately represented.
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Advocates pointed to two key drivers in criminalizing pregnancy: the expansion of so-called fetal rights or “personhood” laws and a more punitive approach to substance use among pregnant women — even as many states move to decriminalize drug abuse in line with evolving approaches to addiction. The majority of criminal cases documented by Pregnancy Justice related to substance use, including marijuana, cocaine or methamphetamines. In about one-quarter of these cases, the substance was legal: such as nicotine, alcohol or prescription opiates.
Here are the states that arrest and punish the most pregnant women
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