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    MEtheBarbarianAnna Merlan
    11/18/15 12:18pm

    I get their intent, but addicted women don’t just stop being addicted because they’re pregnant. If they could stop, I’m sure they would. Or you know, if you gave proper access to abortion/family planning clinics maybe you wouldn’t have so many cases.

    Edit: my dumb brain saw Tennessee and read Texas. Idk how accessible abortions are there. Anyone know?

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      darleeeeeene aka deraaiilleeeeeeneMEtheBarbarian
      11/18/15 12:22pm

      Exactly! Why do people think that sending people to jail for addictive behavior is going to make them stop? Are these the same people who think shaming fat people is going to make them lose weight?

      This feels really deeply like part of the war on women. How dare you not be the perfect incubator!?! You’re going to JAIL!!

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      Potential SlayerMEtheBarbarian
      11/18/15 12:23pm

      Yeah, the intent is good, but it just discourages women from seeking pre-natal care. That puts the fetuses/eventual babies even more at risk.

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    Harbour SealAnna Merlan
    11/18/15 12:18pm

    Urgh.

    I will tell you this now: no law like this will ever work, because women will lie and hide their issues and will fail to get the support they need.

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      TeamFullFatBaconHarbour Seal
      11/18/15 12:27pm

      I live here in TN and that is exactly what is happening.

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      Harbour SealTeamFullFatBacon
      11/18/15 12:28pm

      I am SHOCKED.

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    iElvis is Now Funded by Peter ThielAnna Merlan
    11/18/15 12:18pm

    Yes, because hard-core meth addicts are totally capable of rational thought processes along the lines of, “I’d like to do some meth but I’m pregnant and might go to jail over it.”

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      ideasleepfuriouslyiElvis is Now Funded by Peter Thiel
      11/18/15 12:22pm

      Or on the flipside “I’m pretty high on meth right now, but I’d better use at least two different types of birth control before we get to the sex, otherwise I might get pregnant and put myself at risk of violating state laws...”

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      MEtheBarbarianiElvis is Now Funded by Peter Thiel
      11/18/15 12:24pm

      If the thought of going to jail was stronger than their need for meth they wouldn’t do illegal drugs in the first place.

      I guess they’re banking on them going cold turkey for the love of the baby, but that’s both impossible and dangerous. They're going to need something to ease detox. I wonder how that plays into this law?

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    TeamFullFatBaconAnna Merlan
    11/18/15 12:25pm

    I live in Northeast TN and I'm ashamed of how many people here voted for and support this. It isn't doing anything but hurting more women and babies because women are now going without prenatal care to avoid doctors and the possibility of going to jail, instead of feeling like the doctors are allies and seeking actual help. It is sad and distressing.

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      southerngothickTeamFullFatBacon
      11/18/15 1:12pm

      I know, right? I’m in west TN and nearly everyone I’m acquainted with voted for and support it. Depressing.

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      TeamFullFatBaconsoutherngothick
      11/18/15 1:14pm

      I distanced myself from a ton of people over that nonsense. It is very depressing that it gets the support that it does.

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    Blazing ArrowAnna Merlan
    11/18/15 12:16pm

    It’s almost as if treatment and successful drug policies work better than increased law enforcement and mandatory minimum sentences...

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      stacyinbeanBlazing Arrow
      11/18/15 12:46pm

      What is this sorcery you speak of?

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    bagoflettersAnna Merlan
    11/18/15 12:32pm

    This is one of those laws that sounds great in the idea phase, “hey we need to lower the rate of babies born with NAS ! What’s an easy and cheap way to do that?” but in practice proves to be nothing but a false band aid that elected officials can point to and say “well we tried SEE” funding planned parenthood so that there is more likely to be an easily accessible center near a woman in need of one, and funding more drug treatment facilities with the capability to handle pregnant women (and women in general before they become pregnant) would dramatically lower the likelihood of a baby being born with NAS.

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      Omar's Last Cheeriosbagofletters
      11/18/15 12:42pm

      Arguably, incarceration and treatment of women found to be in violation, as well as foster care (?) for the child(ren) isn’t that cheap...

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      bagoflettersOmar's Last Cheerios
      11/18/15 1:09pm

      Prisons are often used in rural areas as a way to cheapen expenses for states (though there are studies that prove it doesn’t work very well) Also I imagine Tennessee would much rather pay for foster care than fund things like Planned Parenthood (Jesus! Life! Women making choices!) and more drug treatment facilities (Handouts! Bootstraps! Not our problem!) and would see it as a more acceptable "cost" than something that a majority of the red state is completely against and also is something that would likely make them lose any reelection attempt.

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    thatshytidontlikeAnna Merlan
    11/19/15 7:17am

    I was addicted to opiates when my son was conceived. I was treated with dignity and compassion and given priority admission to a treatment facility and SURPRISE! My son was born drug free. The shit ain't chess it's checkers.

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      darleeeeeene aka deraaiilleeeeeeneAnna Merlan
      11/18/15 12:18pm

      It’s almost like women knew it was wrong to do before there was a law...

      And like...they have a medical problem and can’t stop...

      ...but that’s just crazy talk.

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        BootyBeepAnna Merlan
        11/18/15 12:28pm

        Isn't it nearly impossible to determine if some forms of "harm" were produced by drug use versus regular ol' variations of nature making weird sh*t happen?

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          PoodletimeBootyBeep
          11/18/15 2:36pm

          Yeah, but that never stopped politicians before. Do you remember the woman in Minnesota, I think, who was convicted of manslaughtering her stillborn baby, and the test the prosecution used was to drop the baby’s lungs in a pool of water and see if they floated or sank? Science not so popular with these kinds of people.

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          BootyBeepPoodletime
          11/18/15 3:28pm

          So true, it's why women in el Salvador end up in jail for having miscarriages, there's no way of knowing it was a spontaneous or attempt at inducement. This is all about holding women accountable for the functions of a scary body part men can't control themselves around so they try to control it instead, disregarding the woman attached to that body part. Who needs science when you have raging man feelings? Oh yeah, men don't have feelings they have facts, their feelings are facts

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        KaeteAnna Merlan
        11/18/15 12:53pm

        This law also encourages women who have used drugs to try and attempt more home births to lower their chances of getting caught. And of course, that means infants that need medical help more than most are less likely to get it.

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