Quote/Shannon

“Judges such as the one who convicted Jennifer Johnson are pronouncing not so much “I care about your baby” as “You don’t deserve to be a mother.” (Roberts 10)
This quote from “Punishing Drug Addicts With Babies” is incredibly powerful and very true. As a society we are more likely take a negative approach to every situation. Most people forget that they are trying to improve their lives and others. An example is when we kill dandelions. Are you killing the dandelion because you are trying to help the grass from being killed by it, or is it because you just don’t like it? Weeds are plants too, like grass, but because they aren’t like everyone else we kill them instead of planting them somewhere else.
This is much like pregnant women who use drugs. They are different because they abuse a substance but instead of “planting them somewhere else” and helping them. We basically sentence them or their babies to death.
This death might not be immediate. It will most likely be a long and hard path. One that we think is changeable by simply separating a baby from and addict mother. It is a lot easier to direct a statement at something that you can see, feel, touch, and hear, like the mother. An unborn baby is inside and covered by this mother, so it’s much easier to accept the idea that this baby is not human. Even though that baby is a tiny human, we can’t see it, we can’t touch it, but we know its there… Babies cannot control who their parents are and the womb they will develop in, so it is that point the judicial system needs to consider. It’s a difficult situation. Do you consider the mother and baby as one unit or as separate units? I mean if you sit down and think about it, a mother and child regardless of the situation are always going to be connected.
I have also thought a great deal about Shannon’s statement of treating couples together. On paper this sounds like a wonderful solution, but the actual execution of it is more difficult. The relationships of these couples are not always the most stable. I have a friend who was in a drug relationship. I don’t think her partner even had to do anything, the drug courted her and soon she was head over heels. If drugs are the only component of a relationship getting even one member of the pair to partake in treatment is difficult, alone both of them. I even question whether there is love in these relationships or whether it is just enabling. Another issue comes in the fact that if one side falls they both go down. An alternative situation, which involves one user and one non user is just as difficult. In most cases, unless you have been a user or have been surrounded by one, you will never fully understand what the other person is going through. I would love to think that people are willing to help the people they love out, but sometimes the substance is more powerful than any feeling.
Personally, I think that a person should seek individual treatment followed by couple’s treatment. I think it is more beneficial for a person to “find” themselves and then see how the new “them” interacts with their partner. As good of a support a partner is, they are also the worst enemy for an addict.