Sep 16 7:00 PM

Indiana attorney general calls for drug testing of pregnant women

Indiana Statehouse. Jeff Gross/Getty Images
2012 Getty Images

This post has been updated to include comments sent by the attorney general's office to The Stream. 

Indiana attorney general Greg Zoeller has called upon his state's legislature to enact mandatory drug testing for pregnant women, citing rising health care costs. Zoeller said drug testing will allow for early treatment of babies exposed to drugs ingested by their mothers while they are in the womb. The exposure can lead to an existing addiction to drugs known as Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), which can cause withdrawal symptoms shortly after birth. According to Zoeller (pictured below), the symptoms associated with NAS cost Indiana hospitals around $30 million in 2011. 

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