Talking Points focused on the so called fetal assault law in Tennessee. This law is slated to sunset on July 1st 2016, however there is currently an effort to make the law permanent. This flyer discusses the law and why we should allow it to sunset in July. You can contact any of the organizations listed for more information on how to support the effort to sunset the fetal assault law.

1. FACT: This law was intended to help reduce neonatal abstinence syndrome, but reports
show that there has been no decrease in NAS cases.3
A Tennessee Department of Health report demonstrated that there were more cases in the first full year of
the law (2015) than in the prior year.4
FACT: There is not enough treatment overall, but especially for pregnant mothers.
The Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drugs and Other Addiction Services
completed an analysis of the state’s drug treatment programs in December of 2015.
They found that waiting lists for care can have hundreds and even over 1000 people
on them at any given time. Only 11 of the 39 licensed residential detoxification
programs in TN will accept pregnant women providing just 132 slots for all of the
people seeking treatment in those facilities. Though pregnant women are a priority for
treatment these are not set asides to ensure availability of care for pregnant women. 9
FACT: Health and drug treatment professionals have found that people are avoiding
prenatal care in fear of being arrested and jailed.
A recent report from East Tennessee Children's Hospital showed a three-fold increase in the number of
NICU admissions where mothers had not accessed prenatal care.7 This trend shows a sharp increase in the
number of women with no prenatal care after the law went into effect. This was one of the primary
concerns expressed before the law went into effect.
FACT: Women are in fact being charged and jailed.
Warrants have been issued repeatedly in several counties and women arrested
repeatedly as a result. In Shelby County, there are women who have served as much as six
months in jail. Others are still going through the drug court process and could due to other
requirements within the drug court system end up in the system.8
FACT: Many people cannot afford treatment and the fetal assault law does not provide
coverage for care.
The fetal assault law does not require that treatment be paid for or that bail and court fees be waived, so
there are women who cannot afford treatment or who are further engaged in the system because they
cannot afford the fees.

2. FACT: Babies are not born addicted. Some babies
who are exposed to opioids during pregnancy
experience temporary and treatable symptoms.1
NAS is not life threatening or permanent, and studies show
that newborns with NAS do not develop any differently
than other children.2 Some children experience
manageable health conditions that are likely
correlated with the lack of access to health care and proper
nutrition that many people who have used drugs face while
pregnant.
FACT: Medication assisted treatment is the
evidence based protocol for pregnant women,
which can result in both a positive drug test and
symptoms of NAS.6
Health professionals recommended
medication assisted treatment, but there
are only 12 licensed methadone centers
throughout Tennessee and they do not
accept TennCare or other health insur-
ance. Methadone treatment in Tennessee typically costs
$12.50 a day - more than $4,500 a year if taken daily. This
can push this treatment option out of reach for many
women.9
Bottom line: This law is not working. There may
be some women who feel that the law scared them
into treatment, but it is hurting far more than it is
helping! We are wasting tax dollars to jail mothers when
we could allocate those funds to expand access to licensed,
evidence based treatment services.
1-Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Pub. No. [SMA] 06-4124, Methadone Treatment for Pregnant Women (2006). 2-
American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women, Opioid Abuse, Dependence, and Addiction in Pregnancy, Committee Opinion No.
524 (May 2012). 3-Number of TN Babies Born Dependent on Drugs, WJHL (November 2015). 4-Tennessee Department of Health, Drug Dependent Newborns (Neonatal Abstinence Syn-
drome), Data through 10/31/2015. 5- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Committee on Ethics, Maternal Decision Making, Ethics, and the Law, 106 Obstetrics & Gynecol-
ogy 1127 (2005). 6-Medication-Assisted Treatment For Opioid Addiction in Opioid Treatment Programs, US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 08-4341 (2008). 7- East Tennessee Children's Hospital, No Prenatal Care Trend, Quarter One
2016. 8- Tracking of Shelby County Arrests and Time Served, Just City (February 2016). 9-Implementation of Chapter 820 and Opportunities to Address Pregnancy, Drug Use and the Law,
Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drugs and Other Addiction Services (December 2015).
Brittany Hudson,
East Tennessee: I was using drugs while
pregnant for my second child. I am not proud of
that. I tried to get treatment and was refused care
from a bunch of facilities either because they
didn’t have room or they didn’t treat pregnant
women. I heard about the new law and was
terrified that I would lose my baby and be thrown
in jail. This just made it worse. I was afraid to ask
for help and avoided prenatal care. I ended up
giving birth to my daughter on the side of the road
trying to avoid going to a hospital in Tennessee.
I am clean now and parenting my daughter, but
this experience made my recovery process that
much harder. This is a disease and you have to
treat it like a disease. Mothers need support and
care. We need policies that focus on our health
and the health of our children. We do not need
judges, jails and judgment. We don’t need our
faces in newspaper articles that push myths about
drug use and paint us as monsters. When you
throw someone behind bars for having a disease
you aren't treating them and you are not helping
them or their kids. This law needs to go. I urge
Tennessee lawmakers to look at ways to help
people. Don’t just assume the worst of us and
keep a law that treats mothers like criminals.
This information was compiled by a broad coalition of organizations working to ensure the sunset of the fetal assault law. For more
information or to be connected to any of the groups listed, please contact Karen Pershing (kpershing@metrodrug.org).

3. Tennessee Organizations Opposing House Bill 1660 and
Supporting the Sunset of the Tennessee Fetal Assault Law
American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee (ACLU-TN)
American Council of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) – Tennessee
Advocates for Women's And Kids' Equality (AWAKE) – Tennessee
Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWONN) -Tennessee
Children’s Hospital Alliance
Chattanooga Organized for Action
Counseling Solutions of Chatsworth
The First Year Foundation Incorporated
Healthy and Free TN
Just City
Knox County Prescription Drug Task Force
Law Students for Reproductive Justice - Vanderbilt
March of Dimes
Mercy Junction Justice and Peace Center
Metro Drug Coalition
Multidisciplinary Intensive Support Treatment (MIST)
Nashville Feminist Collective
National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW)
National Alliance for Medication Assisted (NAMA) Recovery of Tennessee
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum – Nashville chapter
National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) – Tennessee section
Prevention Alliance of TN
Renaissance Recovery
SisterReach
Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug & other Addiction Services (TAADAS)
Tennessee Nursing Association
Women's Fund of Greater Chattanooga
Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis
National Medical and Public Health Associations Oppose Laws that Utilize Coercion or Criminalization to
Push Treatment
American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry American Medical Association
American Council of Obstetricians and Gynecologists National Perinatal Association
American Nurses Association American Public Health Association
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs American Psychological Association
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence American Psychiatric Association