A 2014 law with understandable intentions but infinite pitfalls will be sunset on July 1.
The measure, known as the "fetal assault" bill, allowed the arrest and misdemeanor charge of mothers who used narcotics during pregnancy and whose baby was harmed as a result. The hope was the law would stem the alarming tide of drug-dependent births.
We worried at the time about the proposal, saying it "may have opened a Pandora's box of troubles [lawmakers] may never get closed."
Indeed, the measure not only did not stop the rise of drug-dependent babies but also had other chilling effects.
Tennessee Department of Health statistics show that neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) showed a ten-fold increase between 1999 and 2010. Among TennCare enrollees, the rate increased every year but one between 2008 and 2014.
The Volunteer State's rate of such births is three times the national average.
The intent of the law, according to Department of Health information, was "to give law enforcement and district attorneys a tool to address illicit drug use among pregnant women through treatment programs, including drug courts and particularly in egregious cases such as more than one NAS delivery."
Upon its passage, Tennessee was the only state to allow assault charges against new mothers for prenatal drug use.
However, the law had few teeth. It didn't punish drug-addicted fathers, didn't increase the availability of treatment centers in rural areas, didn't require health care providers to notify law enforcement about illegal drug use during a woman's pregnancy, didn't allow the Department of Health to provide information on NAS cases to law enforcement, did not trigger automatic prosecution if cases were referred to the Department of Children's Services, did not change care or medical treatment provided to pregnant women, and did not create criminal liability for providers who prescribed narcotics to women of childbearing age.
However, what it did do was make mothers who didn't know the law's ramifications scared of seeking treatment, sent some mothers into hiding and caused other mothers to choose abortion over potential eventual prosecution.
As of last November, around 100 women in the state had been prosecuted under the law, most choosing treatment over serving time.
The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, R-Lancaster, said - albeit inelegantly - that two years wasn't enough time to gauge the effectiveness of the law.
"I would submit to you that there's still not enough hardcore evidence to determine the merits of this bill, other than the testimonies that we've had that this is actually working," she said. "I'd really hate to see us throw the baby out with the bath water on something that's working for some women."
Since the bill - with an amendment that would have narrowed its scope - failed on a 3-3 tie vote in the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, the law, as provided upon its passage, will not be renewed.
Now, perhaps, more addicted women will seek treatment so that the next generation will not carry the same scourge.