Act of Alabama No. 2006-204: Difference between revisions

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The Senate Bill (SB 133) was filed by Senate President Pro Tem [[Lowell Barron]] and co-sponsored by 20 other Senators, from both parties. It defines various terms and establishes that, "knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally" causing a child to "be exposed to, to ingest, or inhale, or have contact with a controlled substance, chemical substance or drug paraphernalia," is guilty of a class C felony, and that if the child is thereby harmed, guilty of a class B felony, and if the child's death results, guilty of a class A felony. The law provides an affirmative defense for the proper administration of drugs lawfully prescribed for the child by a medical doctor. It was signed into law on [[March 10]] by [[Governor of Alabama|Governor]] [[Bob Riley]].
The Senate Bill (SB 133) was filed by Senate President Pro Tem [[Lowell Barron]] and co-sponsored by 20 other Senators, from both parties. It defines various terms and establishes that, "knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally" causing a child to "be exposed to, to ingest, or inhale, or have contact with a controlled substance, chemical substance or drug paraphernalia," is guilty of a class C felony, and that if the child is thereby harmed, guilty of a class B felony, and if the child's death results, guilty of a class A felony. The law provides an affirmative defense for the proper administration of drugs lawfully prescribed for the child by a medical doctor. It was signed into law on [[March 10]] by [[Governor of Alabama|Governor]] [[Bob Riley]].


The law has been used to charge parents of children exposed to methamphetamines and heroin. It was later used to prosecute women who used controlled substances during pregnancies. By [[2014]] more than 100 women had been arrested after testing positive for controlled substances during pregnancies. That application of the law was challenged, but the [[Alabama State Supreme Court]] decided in [[2013]], and confirmed in [[2014]], that fetuses and fertilized eggs are included by the term "child" under state law. In a separate concurring opinion in ''Ex Parte Hicks'' (2014) Chief Justice [[Roy Moore]] claimed that the 14th amendment's equal protection clause established an "inalienable right to life" for unborn children.
==Legal challenges==
The law has been used to charge parents of children who were exposed to methamphetamines and heroin. It was later also used to prosecute women who used controlled substances during pregnancies. Because the crime fell under the category of child abuse, parents who were charged or convicted faced not only jail time, but also permanent loss of parental rights.


By [[2014]] more than 100 women had been arrested after testing positive for controlled substances during pregnancies. That application of the law was challenged, but the [[Alabama State Supreme Court]] decided in [[2013]], and confirmed in [[2014]], that fetuses and fertilized eggs are included by the term "child" under state law. In a separate concurring opinion in ''Ex Parte Hicks'' (2014) Chief Justice [[Roy Moore]] claimed that the 14th amendment's equal protection clause established an "inalienable right to life" for unborn children.
==Amendments==
In [[2015]], at the request of [[Etowah County Sheriff's Department|Etowah County Sheriff]] [[Todd Entrekin]], Representative [[Mack Butler]] sponsored a new bill which would require medical professionals to report pregnant women's positive tests for controlled substances to law enforcement within 2 hours. He explained to the House Health Committee that such women are sometimes hard to track down for prosecution because, "crackheads don't have permanent addresses." The bill did not advance.
In [[2015]], at the request of [[Etowah County Sheriff's Department|Etowah County Sheriff]] [[Todd Entrekin]], Representative [[Mack Butler]] sponsored a new bill which would require medical professionals to report pregnant women's positive tests for controlled substances to law enforcement within 2 hours. He explained to the House Health Committee that such women are sometimes hard to track down for prosecution because, "crackheads don't have permanent addresses." The bill did not advance.


By [[2016]] the number of women charged with chemical endangerment of a fetus, for taking prescription medications, had grown to more than 500.
By [[2016]] reporters found that the number of women charged with chemical endangerment of a fetus had grown to more than 479. They also found that Etowah County was especially aggressive in enforcing the law, while Marshall County was evidently trying to use it to push expectant mothers into treatment programs. In Calhoun county wildly different outcomes could result from similar cases.


An [[Alabama Health Care Improvement Task Force]].
An [[Alabama Health Care Improvement Task Force]] recommended that the use of prescribed drugs be exempted from the law, and that women discovered to have been using illegal drugs during pregnancy should receive court-ordered treatment rather than jail sentences.


In [[2021]] a mother who had delivered a healthy child, but had taken previously prescribed hydrocodone for back pain during her pregnancy, was charged under the chemical endangerment law.  
[[Act of Alabama No. 2016-399]], sponsored by [[Clyde Chambliss]], [[Linda Coleman-Madison]], [[Priscilla Dunn]], and [[Vivian Figures]], amended the law to affirm that if a pregnant woman had a "good faith belief" that her use of a controlled substance was "pursuant to a lawful prescription," that she would not be guilty of violating the law and that no one had a duty to report such use. [[Steve Marshall]], then a district attorney for Marshall County, and an outspoken champion of using the law to prosecute pregnant women, assented to the fairness of the amendment. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor [[Robert Bentley]] on [[May 12]].


==References==
==References==
* ''Ex Parte Hicks'' (2014) 153 So. 3d 53, Alabama State Supreme Court
* ''Ex Parte Hicks'' (2014) 153 So. 3d 53, Alabama State Supreme Court
* Suppé, Rachel (2014) "[https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1129&context=hlp Pregnancy on Trial: The Alabama Supreme Court’s Erroneous Application of Alabama Chemical Endangerment Law in Ex parte Ankrom]" ''Health Law & Policy Brief''. Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 49-75
* "Alabama Bill Requires Medical Professionals to Report Drug Suspicion Quickly." (May 14, 2015) ''Decatur Daily''
* "Alabama Bill Requires Medical Professionals to Report Drug Suspicion Quickly." (May 14, 2015) ''Decatur Daily''
* "Special report: Alabama leads nation in turning pregnant women into felons." (September 23, 2015) {{AL}}
* Martin, Nina & Amy Yurkanin (September 23, 2015) "Special report: Alabama leads nation in turning pregnant women into felons." {{AL}}
* Martin, Nina (May 4, 2016) "Alabama Lawmakers Limit Drug Prosecutions in Pregnancy." ''ProPublica''


==External links==
==External links==
* [https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/docs/26-15-3.2.pdf Ala. Code 1975, § 26-15-3.2] at judicial.alabama.gov
* [https://judicial.alabama.gov/docs/library/docs/26-15-3.2.pdf Ala. Code 1975, § 26-15-3.2] at judicial.alabama.gov
* [https://arc-sos.state.al.us/ucp/B06073AA.AAE.pdf Act of Alabama No. 2006-204] at sos.state.al.us
* [https://arc-sos.state.al.us/ucp/B06073AA.AAE.pdf Act of Alabama No. 2006-204] at sos.state.al.us
* [https://arc-sos.state.al.us/ucp/B16133AA.BBJ.pdf Act of Alabama No. 2016-399] at sos.state.al.us


[[Category:Alabama laws|2006-204]]
[[Category:Alabama laws|2006-204]]
[[Category:2006 works]]
[[Category:2006 works]]

Revision as of 17:06, 11 January 2023

Act of Alabama No. 2006-204 is a law passed in 2006 that amends Title 26 of the Code of Alabama "Infants and Incompetents" to create a crime of "Chemical Endangerment of a Child."

The Senate Bill (SB 133) was filed by Senate President Pro Tem Lowell Barron and co-sponsored by 20 other Senators, from both parties. It defines various terms and establishes that, "knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally" causing a child to "be exposed to, to ingest, or inhale, or have contact with a controlled substance, chemical substance or drug paraphernalia," is guilty of a class C felony, and that if the child is thereby harmed, guilty of a class B felony, and if the child's death results, guilty of a class A felony. The law provides an affirmative defense for the proper administration of drugs lawfully prescribed for the child by a medical doctor. It was signed into law on March 10 by Governor Bob Riley.

Legal challenges

The law has been used to charge parents of children who were exposed to methamphetamines and heroin. It was later also used to prosecute women who used controlled substances during pregnancies. Because the crime fell under the category of child abuse, parents who were charged or convicted faced not only jail time, but also permanent loss of parental rights.

By 2014 more than 100 women had been arrested after testing positive for controlled substances during pregnancies. That application of the law was challenged, but the Alabama State Supreme Court decided in 2013, and confirmed in 2014, that fetuses and fertilized eggs are included by the term "child" under state law. In a separate concurring opinion in Ex Parte Hicks (2014) Chief Justice Roy Moore claimed that the 14th amendment's equal protection clause established an "inalienable right to life" for unborn children.

Amendments

In 2015, at the request of Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin, Representative Mack Butler sponsored a new bill which would require medical professionals to report pregnant women's positive tests for controlled substances to law enforcement within 2 hours. He explained to the House Health Committee that such women are sometimes hard to track down for prosecution because, "crackheads don't have permanent addresses." The bill did not advance.

By 2016 reporters found that the number of women charged with chemical endangerment of a fetus had grown to more than 479. They also found that Etowah County was especially aggressive in enforcing the law, while Marshall County was evidently trying to use it to push expectant mothers into treatment programs. In Calhoun county wildly different outcomes could result from similar cases.

An Alabama Health Care Improvement Task Force recommended that the use of prescribed drugs be exempted from the law, and that women discovered to have been using illegal drugs during pregnancy should receive court-ordered treatment rather than jail sentences.

Act of Alabama No. 2016-399, sponsored by Clyde Chambliss, Linda Coleman-Madison, Priscilla Dunn, and Vivian Figures, amended the law to affirm that if a pregnant woman had a "good faith belief" that her use of a controlled substance was "pursuant to a lawful prescription," that she would not be guilty of violating the law and that no one had a duty to report such use. Steve Marshall, then a district attorney for Marshall County, and an outspoken champion of using the law to prosecute pregnant women, assented to the fairness of the amendment. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Robert Bentley on May 12.

References

External links

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