es reported that as many as three million children were abused and neglected in 1997, up by more than double since 1986 while the population increase was only 13.1 percent (p. 45). Under the American federal system, regulation of health is primarily the responsibility of government below the level of the federal government, and it is not unlimited. McMullen (1992, Spring) said a series of Supreme Court cases, dating back to Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 265 U.S. 510 (1925) and Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972), made it clear that the power of a state to supplant parental authority applied "only where an important or clearly relevant governmental or societal interest is at stake" (p. 570).
Problems of the Substance-Abusing Pregnant Mothers
The Health/Social Problem. During the 1980s, rising crime rates, especially violent crime in the inner cities and the perceived link between crime and illegal drug consumption and dealing, gripped the public consciousness, and produced strong public support for efforts to control crime and for the War on Drug
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