Senator McConnell Introduces Bill to Address Maternal Addiction and Infant Opiate Withdrawal
‘It will help ensure that our public health system is better equipped to prevent and treat opiate addiction in mothers and their newborn children. Together, we can overcome this tragic problem. I’m going to remain focused on it until we do.’
July 31, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell today introduced legislation to address the problem of maternal opiate addiction and infants suffering from opiate withdrawal.
“This measure would help identify and disseminate recommendations for preventing and treating maternal addiction so that we can reduce the number of infants born dependent on opiates and other drugs,” Senator McConnell said. “This measure would also promote recommendations as to how to identify those babies suffering from withdrawal – and how best to treat them. And because I’ve heard from so many experts in Kentucky on the need for more research into infant withdrawal and its long-term effects, my bill would shine a spotlight on those areas as well. The Protecting Our Infants Act would also encourage the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to work with states to improve the availability and quality of data so that they can respond more effectively to this public health crisis.”
Senator McConnell added, “My legislation is no silver bullet, but it will help ensure that our public health system is better equipped to prevent and treat opiate addiction in mothers and their newborn children. Together, we can overcome this tragic problem. I’m going to remain focused on it until we do.”
Dean Toni Ganzel, University of Louisville School of Medicine said, “With the increasing number of narcotic addicted babies born in Kentucky each year, it is imperative to implement a more effective approach to treatment. This bill represents an important step toward addressing this critical issue.”
Researchers estimate that “more than one baby every hour” is now born dependent on drugs and suffering from withdrawal – a number that’s increased in the Commonwealth by more than 3,000 percent since the year 2000 when 29 infants were identified as suffering from drug withdrawal. In 2013, more than 950 of these infants were identified, and experts believe there are even more cases that go unreported.