From the desk of State Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-Paris.
“Unless you are a law enforcement officer, a prosecutor, a healthcare worker or work for DCS or a child advocacy center such as Carl Perkins, you may not be aware that there is a loophole in Tennessee’s law resulting in the failure to protect unborn children from drug exposure in utero. In fact, if a mother takes a newborn home from the hospital and just days after delivery prepares a bottle for the baby as she is using methamphetamine, the mother could be charged with child abuse, neglect or endangerment if the newborn tests positive for methamphetamine. However, the same mother could use methamphetamine throughout her pregnancy, forcing the methamphetamine into the same innocent child, and causing the child to be born with meth in its system and addicted from birth, and there is no law in TN that allows the mother to be prosecuted. TN House Representative Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) is proposing to fix this loophole with House Bill 2314, which is being sponsored in the Senate by Mark Pody (SB2300).
“Tennessee law desperately needs to be fixed because unborn children are equally deserving of protection. Our society has a duty to protect its most fragile citizens from drug exposure,” stated Griffey. “Research studies have long established that there are a myriad of consequences that can result from prenatal drug exposure, including, but not limited to, premature birth, low birth weight, withdrawal tremors as well as balance and feeding problems. There can also be significant, long-term developmental consequences such as brain damage, congenital syndromes, learning disabilities, behavioral problems and cognitive and language delays. Not only does a mother’s drug use during pregnancy pose a risk to her innocent child’s health and development, but it also imposes socio-economic burdens on society by increasing the need for medical and social services – sometimes on a long-term basis,” Griffey continued.
“Prenatal drug exposure is on the rise. Indeed, according to the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare, 1.2 per 1,000 hospital births in 2000 were diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome – which occurs when a baby is exposed to drugs in the womb before birth. This number jumped to 20 per 1,000 live births in 2016, and continues to increase,” explained Griffey.
“I have been a long-time pro-life advocate and have fought hard at the Capitol for legislation to protect life at all stages. I was a co-sponsor of the Fetal Heartbeat Bill and helped get it passed to restrict abortions in Tennessee. I was also a co-sponsor of the Pre-Natal Life and Liberty Act that was passed into law in Tennessee. Tennessee needs to continue to move the needle forward in further defining the humanity of unborn children and recognizing unborn children as human beings – God’s creations – deserving of dignity and protection,” Griffey concluded.
“Griffey’s bill (HB2314) is assigned to the House Health Subcommittee. Griffey requests that anyone interested in testifying in support of this bill contact him by email at Rep.Bruce.Griffey@Capitol.TN.g