Control Yuan members are to launch an investigation after a case in which a drug offender allegedly used pregnancy to avoid serving her prison sentence.
According to Article 467 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), a convict’s imprisonment or detention can be suspended if she is more than five months pregnant or has given birth in the previous two months, the Control Yuan said in a statement on Thursday.
One female drug offender allegedly gave birth to 10 babies over a span of 15 years to avoid prison, it said.
What is more concerning is that the woman continued to use drugs during pregnancy, it said.
Drug use causes significant damage to the fetus and leads to serious problems in terms of health and social welfare when the child is born, the statement said.
Control Yuan members Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) and Lin Ya-feng (林雅鋒) have initiated an investigation into the matter.
They are to look into whether the Executive Yuan’s plan to invest NT$10 billion (US$327 million) in an anti-drug program over the next four years would address these problems and whether the Code of Criminal Procedure and other regulations need to be amended.
Further investigations are to take place on special protection for babies and to prevent the development of disabilities in infants, the Control Yuan said.
Newborns whose mothers used drugs during pregnancy are more likely to have a low birth weight; be born prematurely; or experience neonatal abstinence syndrome, developmental delays and cognitive impairment, the statement said.
Their risk of dying before reaching school age is two to five times higher than other children’s, it said.
Infants who are raised in families with drug addictions are likely to suffer from a lack of healthcare resources and proper parenting, among other problems, it said.
As a result, infants who grow up in these types of environments are more vulnerable, it said, adding that these situations might also exacerbate child abuse issues.
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