THOMPSON SIGNS LAW ON PREGNANT DRUG ABUSERS

Governor pledges to find money to treat those held under measure

Waukesha -- Judges will be able to order pregnant women who are chronic
abusers of alcohol or drugs into a treatment center until they give birth,
under a bill signed Tuesday by Gov. Tommy Thompson.

"This bill takes care of the mother and puts her in a treatment program so
the unborn child is going to be preserved and protected and . . . healthy
when born," said Thompson, who pledged to work for state funding of the
treatment of pregnant women's addictions.

Critics of the bill had said the measure punished pregnant women without
providing funds to help them overcome their problems.

The new law, dubbed the "cocaine mom" bill, is the result of two
well-publicized cases.

One involved a pregnant, cocaine-addicted Waukesha woman who in 1995
refused drug treatment. The other incident involved a Racine woman who
sought to kill her full-term fetus by binge drinking.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled last year in the Waukesha case that state
law did not allow the detention of pregnant, drug-abusing women to protect
their fetuses.

Thompson, who signed the bill in a Waukesha County courtroom, said only two
other states, South Carolina and South Dakota, have laws that deal with
pregnant women who abuse alcohol or drugs. But those states allow for the
prosecution of those women for child abuse, he said.

The new Wisconsin bill "is about prevention," he said. "It is also about
treatment, not punishment. Wisconsin is the first state to take this
approach. Other states have added on to the penalty section. There are no
penalty sections in this bill," Thompson said.

The new Wisconsin law allows a judge to order a pregnant woman into the
home of an adult relative, a treatment home or a hospital if her habitual
use of alcohol or drugs will injure or endanger the fetus.

"The 'cocaine mom' bill gets help for mothers who can't help themselves
because of their addictions and don't realize they're victimizing their own
children," the governor said.

State Sen. Joanne Huelsman (R-Waukesha), a co-sponsor of the "cocaine mom"
bill, said she would seek money in the next session of the Legislature to
help pregnant women.

"We are going to take a look at what problems there are with private
insurance . . . and determine what federal dollars can be accessed," said
Huelsman.

State Rep. Bonnie Ladwig (R-Racine), the other co-sponsor of the bill, said
she expects the courts to uphold the new Wisconsin law if it is challenged.