Senate: Pass Bill/Law that criminalizes mother's with assault/child abuse when they birth babies ...

A babies life should not begin with detox. This petition should be supported because these babies born with this syndrome have neither asked nor had the option to refuse the substances in which they are born addicted to resulting in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Not only does this epidemic cost the tax payers $28,592 per baby, due to the extensive treatment required to wean the baby off, but it also removes the baby from the mother at the time that the baby needs their mother most. This is punishing the innocent baby due to no fault of their own. According to recent studies conducted at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, the number of newborns treated or monitored for drug withdrawl shot up 119% in three years, from 31 in 2009 to 68 in 2012. This is just one city in North Carolina and this epidemic is constantly growing. According to an article by The Journal Of American Medical Association, in 2009, they found that 13,359 newborns were born with NAS. These numbers just reflect those babies born addicted to opiates. Just imagine how much higher the numbers will jump when Heroine, Methamphetamine, Cocaine, and Marijuana are added to the equation. This Bill/Law will finally give the babies a voice and take the punishment off of them and place it where it belongs......on the mother's.