Tennessee is doubling down on prosecution of pregnant drug users

Tennessee legislators aren't giving up on the state's controversial "fetal assault" law.

The state enacted the first-of-its-kind statute, which makes it a crime for women to use narcotic drugs while pregnant, in 2014.

The original version is set to expire this year, but state lawmakers plan to vote Tuesday on a bill that would extend the law, despite severe criticisms that it's done more harm than good.

Originally, the law was meant to reduce the state's rate of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), a condition in which newborn babies suffer from drug dependency caused by exposure to opiates during pregnancy. Tennessee's NAS rate is one of the highest in the country.

But critics, including several civil liberties groups and medical organizations, warned these laws’ punitive focus could backfire. Instead of deterring women from using drugs, they predicted, such laws would would drive drug-dependent women away from treatment and prenatal care.

"They're making decisions on medical care out of fear rather than out of science or what is best for them and their baby's health," Jessica Young, an OB-GYN who specializes in addiction during pregnancy, told NPR last year. "Fear makes people make rash unsafe decisions without the consultation or guidance of a physician."

The amendment this week extend Tennessee's law but add a limit to only prosecute women who are more than 25 weeks pregnant.

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