Opioid Addicted Pregnancies: A Public Health Issue

Abstract

While the opioid crisis in the US has been widely publicized, what has not been given equal attention is the increasing number of pregnant women addicted to various prescribed and illegal opioids which has paralleled the current opioid epidemic. Instead of viewing the matter as a criminal justice issue, many experts believe that the issue is a public health problem because of the sheer number of people who are impacted nationwide, as well as the negative health consequences that affect the mothers and infants. We argue that opioid addicted pregnant women is not a criminal justice issue, but rather, a public health epidemic that requires healthcare approaches rather than punitive criminal justice strategies.