Sen. Charles Schumer is calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to change prescription drug labels to clearly warn pregnant women of the dangers to their unborn babies.
Schumer was joined by New York doctors on Sunday to call for a nationwide plan to combat the trend of babies being born addicted to prescription drugs or other opiates.
He said that the number of babies born addicted to painkillers and other opiates has nearly tripled in the past decade, with prescription drugs fueling the increase.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month, approximately 3.4 of every 1,000 infants born in 2009 suffered from painkiller addiction.
(Source: WCBSTV)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
4 Responses
The increase is primarily, if not exclusively, as a result of addiction to narcotics. More addicted mothers, more babies born addicted.
Most posturing on a Sunday by our Senator.
Ironically, many studies have shown have ineffective the current labels are.
Adding labels to warn addicts? Now that’s a burdensome gov’t regulation that won’t work.
Schumer’s mother took something harmful to her unborn child. The rest is history.
Schumer cares about unborn babies? That’s funny.
They are labelled. And since by definition they are “prescription” drugs, a doctor prescribes them and not asking a woman of the proper age about pregnancy before prescribing a drug is malpractice per se.
The abuse comes from people acquiring the drugs illegally, and the usefulness of warnings on illicit drugs is someone questionable. Criminals are known for following instructions from the government (you know, that is why they are called “criminals”).