No Little Victories

By DON ROLLINS

There are no little victories when it comes to protecting expectant mothers experiencing substance misuse. Caught up in the most recent wave of legalized misogyny, 23 states and the District of Columbia now consider maternal substance use a punishable offense. Any move away from that trend is a welcome development.

Among the handful of states to beat back this now national agenda is North Carolina, where last year Democratic governor Roy Cooper vetoed a bill that would have followed suit.

Cooper’s grounds for the veto included statistics indicating higher incidents of neonatal opioid abstinence syndrome (a cycle in which the child experiences withdrawal at birth) among states with punitive laws. The statutes are clearly having the opposite effect.

Secondly, the governor cited such legislation “… discourages pregnant women with substance use disorders to seek treatment and prenatal care … and does nothing to expand access to treatment.”

Cooper’s first two rationales fell on the deaf ears of state Republicans, as did his third argument pointing out the racist and classist nature of a bill that “… would disproportionately impact women of color and low-income women, who are already less likely to have access to the substance use treatment and quality healthcare.”

Cooper’s final point touched on the collateral and lasting damage among states using such radical models. Across the board their substance misuse-related foster care placements have increased — yet another incentive for substance using mothers to resist treatment prior to giving birth.

But as the governor and his legislative allies have since found, doing the right thing by these moms-to-be is neither simple nor cheap: the vast majority have experienced trauma long before becoming pregnant, and have co-occurring disorders; most rural and some urban areas lack for professionals with the necessary training; and many clients require help with child care, better housing, social service referrals, transportation and flexibility with work schedules.

In North Carolina’s instance, government grants and nonprofit endowments are providing the lion’s share of the current funding for these programs and services. It remains to be seen if either source has the will and means to sustain the current levels.

North Carolina’s tack has been far from seamless, yet to date agencies in the areas targeted for funding have largely met the outcomes needed to continue. One governor, one state and one example can’t undo the pain being visited upon already suffering women. But when it comes to protecting their right to be, there are no little victories.

Don Rollins is a Unitarian Universalist minister living in Hendersonville, N.C. Email donaldlrollins@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, December 15, 2021

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