If you've never heard the story of Regina McKnight, you need to watch this video (also available on vimeo here). McKnight was convicted of homicide for giving birth to a stillborn baby, allegedly resulting from cocaine use during her pregnancy. Her conviction was overturned by the South Carolina State Supreme Court, but not until after she had already served over half of her 12-year sentence. (More from Feministing on her case here and here.)

Though this case is a few years old, its details remain fascinating, and prominent law professor Michele Goodwin demonstrates its continuing relevance. The use of drugs during pregnancy has become more common, she argues—but this uptick is due as much to the use of drug regimens as part of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) as it is to the consumption of illegal drugs. For mothers like Brianna Morrison and Nadya Suleman, a plethora of drugs facilitates conception, but it also increases the likelihood of dangerous multiple and premature births. In 2007, five of the Morrison sextuplets died within a few weeks of birth. As Goodwin acknowledges, any number of factors can contribute to the tragic loss of a pregnancy, including ART use, obesity, and drug and alcohol abuse. So why does someone like Regina McKnight get sentenced to prison, while Brianna Morrison is praised for her bravery and pro-life values? Didn't both mothers choose to create conditions that made their pregnancies more risky? And why is Nadya Suleman widely reviled while Morrison is not?  Didn’t both use ART to create a multiple pregnancy and then choose not to reduce the number of fetuses?

The remarkable discrepancies in "womb policing" experienced by these women remind us of the ethical and legal difficulties of ART usage. Different public reactions to the stories of McKnight, Morrison, and the infamous Suleman hinge upon differences in the women's race and class positions, as well as their marital statuses. This excerpt from Goodwin's lecture at Barnard College's annual Scholar and Feminist Conference compels us as feminists to think harder about our own beliefs about ART and reproductive justice, especially in light of racial and economic issues that might be easier to simply ignore. Watch the video on facebook here or on vimeo here, along with others from the conference on the politics of reproduction and "new technologies of life."

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July 13, 2009 6:00 PM

[0+]  Anathema said:

I have heard this story quite a few times before, aswell as others like it. To think that someone could take a mother who has just lost a child and put them in jail..its unfathomable. The emotional trauma that this woman was put through must have been terrible. Its traumatic enough to give birth to a stillborn child, but then to have society tell you that its all your fault and you are a murderer?? That is just horrible. Yes of course a mother should never take drugs while pregnant, but that is not a reason to hurt a woman this way. She should have been given help to overcome her addiction, and counseling to work through her addiction and the loss of her child, not a jail sentence. Unfortunatly I can see cases such as this becoming more and more common unless we find a way to stop it in its tracks.

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July 13, 2009 8:16 PM

[0+]  Miss Kitty said:

Thanks for this - lots of great, important, thought provoking ideas here. We need more nuanced discussions about these issues.

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