Fetal Abuse: Culpable Behavior by Pregnant Women or Parental Immunity

The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate the pressing need of the law to take decisive action in imposing tort liability for willful and malicious conduct by drug addicted women during their pregnancy. Liability should be imposed notwithstanding the warnings from civil libertarians that the enforcement of such a policy would most assuredly give rise to "prenatal police patrols".