‘Meth moms bill’ likely dead

BOISE – Legislation that would have made drug use by pregnant women a felony punishable by up to five years in prison was quietly referred to the governor’s Criminal Justice Commission for review Wednesday, and the bill’s sponsor doesn’t expect to see it return.

“It’s deader than a doornail,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Denton Darrington, R-Declo, a member of the Criminal Justice Commission and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee.

Senate Bill 1337, which earlier passed the Senate on an 18-16 vote, would have created a new criminal violation – endangering children through the use of schedule I and schedule II controlled substances, which include methamphetamine, Ecstasy, heroin, LSD, cocaine and marijuana. It instructed courts to consider drug treatment options rather than prison time but did not mandate treatment.

Committee heads control which bills get hearings and which don’t. Rep. Debbie Field, R-Boise, chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee, opted not to hear SB 1337, dubbed “the meth moms bill,” because of concerns about what it would do to pregnant drug users and their families.

“I think we just went about it the wrong way,” Field said.

Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, who serves on the judiciary committee, agrees with the decision.

“I’m not sure that we want to discourage pregnant women from getting services, and I think that’s what that bill does,” Clark said.

Darrington disagrees, saying the bill pushed by law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and some members of the medical community is necessary to protect children from being born as drug addicts.

“Nevertheless, for now it will be status quo for those doctors who are unhappy because they are delivering meth babies,” Darrington said. “There’s nothing they can do about it.”

Field said drug abuse by pregnant women is obviously a serious problem but that incarceration is not the solution. She’s confident that the Criminal Justice Commission, composed of law enforcement officials, criminal justice experts, lawmakers and health and welfare representatives, can come up with a better one.

“I just think this is an issue that we probably need to talk about and then figure out some other options,” Field said.

Jane Crosby, president of the board of directors of the Idaho Women’s Network, praised Field for stopping the bill.

“We’re really happy that Rep. Field was able to be reasonable and stop this piece of bad legislation,” Crosby said.

The Women’s Network is looking forward to working with the criminal justice commission on the issue, Crosby said.

“We hope we can get something that’s going to be good for women and families in Idaho,” she said.

But Darrington said incarceration is better than nothing.

“Then you have a judge in a black robe who’s an authority over them, the same as drug court, and we might have a better chance of getting a clean baby,” Darrington said.

Darrington, who is known as a hard-liner on crime, said, “The battle lines were between good and bad – the prosecutors, the police agencies and part of the medical community. And on the other side … were the social workers of the world who believe everybody should be treated.”