TY - JOUR
T1 - Ferguson v. City of Charleston Redux
T2 - Motivated reasoning and coercive interventions in pregnancy
AU - Marshall, Mary Faith
AU - Taylor, Julia
AU - DeBruin, Debra
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
PY - 2020/8
Y1 - 2020/8
N2 - Criminalization of perinatal substance use disorder and other coercive interventions in pregnancy (such as forced cesarean delivery or involuntary hospitalization for bed rest) directly affect the well-being of children and their families and, potentially, of all women of reproductive capacity. Untenable legal and policy approaches that occasion such incursions not only persist but affect a growing number of women. They are antithetical to healthy pregnancies, healthy children, and healthy families; they have the potential to reduce prenatal care seeking, divert attention and resources away from critical mental health and maternal and child support services, and epigenetically affect maternal and infant bonding. Punitive and coercive interventions contravene long-established guidance by professional associations that advocate for public health approaches and ethical frameworks to guide practice. Harmful policies persist because of motivated reasoning by clinicians, members of the judiciary, and ill-informed legislators who rely on personal experience and anecdote rather than evidence to fashion policy. Compounding the problem are inadequate substance use treatment resources and professional associations that choose not to hold their members accountable for violating their ethical obligations to their patients. Pediatricians must advocate for the cessation of coercive interventions within their institutions and their larger communities. All health care professionals should collaborate at the local, state, and national level to provide policymakers and legislators with data emphasizing the negative effects of punitive and coercive policies aimed at pregnant women and their children.
AB - Criminalization of perinatal substance use disorder and other coercive interventions in pregnancy (such as forced cesarean delivery or involuntary hospitalization for bed rest) directly affect the well-being of children and their families and, potentially, of all women of reproductive capacity. Untenable legal and policy approaches that occasion such incursions not only persist but affect a growing number of women. They are antithetical to healthy pregnancies, healthy children, and healthy families; they have the potential to reduce prenatal care seeking, divert attention and resources away from critical mental health and maternal and child support services, and epigenetically affect maternal and infant bonding. Punitive and coercive interventions contravene long-established guidance by professional associations that advocate for public health approaches and ethical frameworks to guide practice. Harmful policies persist because of motivated reasoning by clinicians, members of the judiciary, and ill-informed legislators who rely on personal experience and anecdote rather than evidence to fashion policy. Compounding the problem are inadequate substance use treatment resources and professional associations that choose not to hold their members accountable for violating their ethical obligations to their patients. Pediatricians must advocate for the cessation of coercive interventions within their institutions and their larger communities. All health care professionals should collaborate at the local, state, and national level to provide policymakers and legislators with data emphasizing the negative effects of punitive and coercive policies aimed at pregnant women and their children.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089122594&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85089122594&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1542/peds.2020-0818Q
DO - 10.1542/peds.2020-0818Q
M3 - Article
C2 - 32737239
AN - SCOPUS:85089122594
SN - 0031-4005
VL - 146
SP - S86-S92
JO - Pediatrics
JF - Pediatrics
M1 - e20200818Q
ER -