Thread by @Hegemommy

2018 was a helluva year but it did end on a few high notes, like this decision from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that says using drugs while pregnant is not child abuse. @AngryBlackLady has the background here #TeamLegal

rewire.news/article/2018/0…

Here's a copy of the decision since TeamLegal likes to keep it servicey too

pacourts.us/assets/opinion…

A few things to note from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision.

First-- two justices dissented so 😐

Second, the state had argued that one reason it should charge pregnant people with child abuse is because of the possibility they become pregnant again

According to the state's logic, charging a pregnant person with child abuse now was protecting future children they may possibly have, sometime maybe in the future.

Or, you know, maybe not.

Thankfully the Court did away with that nonsense

"Labeling a woman as a perpetrator of child abuse does not prevent her from becoming pregnant or provide any protection for a later conceived child while in utero," the court noted.

"It also does not ensure that the same woman will not use illegal drugs if she does again become pregnant," said the court.

But it does ensure that patient has a difficult time assimilating into the workforce and participate in the lives of the children they *DO* have

The state had offered no evidence to support these claims, because there is none to offer. These are *punitive* policies targeting patients not *protective* ones

These kinds of policies and arguments are what we call "creeping fetal personhood" and place pregnant patients at odds with their pregnancy.

They also depend on a belief that the state is *owed* a healthy baby with each pregnancy

Over at @Rewire_News we cover the fetal personhood movement relentlessly. And recently the @nytopinion had this really great deep dive into the danger fetal personhood poses to pregnant people. Read every word of it.

nytimes.com/interactive/20…

Meanwhile 2019 is all of 2 days old and already South Carolina and Texas has proposed fetal personhood measures teed up in their legislatures.

in 2018 SEVENTEEN states considered some kind of fetal personhood measure. @BrieShea has you covered here

rewire.news/article/2018/1…