US prosecutors keep charging women with pregnancy-related crimes' | Arwa Mahdawi

"Every 74 seconds, someone in the US is sexually assaulted. And every nine minutes that someone' is a child, according to statistics collated by the anti-sexual violence non-profit Rainn. Instead of sending alleged sex offenders to court, the Trump administration seems more interested in putting them in positions of power. Less than 4% of reported rapes, sexual assaults and child sexual abuse allegations in certain cities across the country ever lead to a sex crime conviction, an NBC News investigation from earlier this year found."

"To reiterate: that's reported assaults. By some counts, nearly 80% of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported. Don't be too hard on the justice system, though. After all, police and prosecutors have got far more important things to think about than rapists. Namely: locking up pregnant women. According to new research by Pregnancy Justice, prosecutors in 16 states charged 412 people with pregnancy-related crimes in the first two years after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade."

"Most of the cases included in the new report involved low-income women and allegations of substance use during pregnancy. In one case described to the Guardian, a woman was arrested for felony child neglect after giving birth when a drug test came back positive for marijuana. The woman in that case had a medical marijuana card. While substance use during pregnancy is obviously a serious issue that can result in long-term harm to the baby, research suggests that criminalization actually worsens health outcomes."

Sexual assault and rape are highly underreported, with statistics showing an assault every 74 seconds and many victims being children. Reported rapes rarely produce convictions, with under 4% leading to sex crime convictions in some cities, and roughly 80% of assaults unreported. Post-Roe, prosecutors prioritized pregnancy-related prosecutions, charging 412 people in 16 states for pregnancy-related crimes in two years. Most cases involve low-income women accused of substance use during pregnancy, including criminal charges after positive drug tests. Criminalizing pregnancy-related behavior can worsen maternal and infant health. Laws used often protect children, reflecting growing acceptance of fetal personhood.

Read at www.theguardian.com