Newly Born and Stigmatized: NYT Fail on Pregnant Women and Drug Use
By Lynn Paltrow, National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW)
April 11, 2011 – 9:36pm
Like the early stories in the New York Times about prenatal exposure to cocaine, the recent New York Times story, Newly Born, and Withdrawing from Pain Killers relies on anecdote and innuendo to focus attention on pregnant drug users rather than actual facts, lessons learned, or the real economic and ethical issues that need to be addressed.
One paragraph leads with this alarming characterization: “As prescription drug abuse ravages communities across the country. . . .” When prescription drug use turns into dependency and addiction it can be extremely damaging to the individual and those around them. This piece, however, does not offer one shred of evidence connecting pregnant women’s drug use to community destruction or decay. Continue reading →