Little fish, big fish, swimming in the water

I was recently involved in a discussion surrounding whether pregnant women who use illicit drugs should be prosecuted. This article adds some intrigue:

Nearly two-thirds of women who gave birth from 1996-2000 took a medication during pregnancy, a large federally funded study found. Of those, nearly 40 percent took a drug whose safety in pregnancy is not established, and nearly 5 percent took a drug potentially risky to the fetus.

As an aside, note the comment by one doctor (Dr. Mary D'Alton) interviewed: "'I just feel that these are very personal choices,' she said. D'Alton sees her job as giving good care and supporting those choices 'as much as possible.'" A doctor who feels her patients have a right to make their own, personal choices. Good for her. Not all doctors feel that way (I'm working on another posting that'll relate).

Mandatory obscure title reference here.

First posted at Psyche Killer qu'est que c'est on 2/11/07