A group of local legislators gathered with a pair of district attorneys Thursday morning to discuss the opioid crisis and neonatal abstinence syndrome and what can be done to help the children affected by drug abuse.

State Sen. Rusty Crowe, State Rep. Timothy Hill and State Rep. John Holsclaw met with District Attorney General Tony Clark and District Attorney General Barry Staubus at the TLC Community Center to hear from the center’s Director Angie Odom about the issues with drug abuse and pregnancy that she encounters.

For nearly 18 years, Odom has operated Abortion Alternatives & Women’s Center and has seen a significant increase in the number of pregnant women who are battling addiction and the impacts it has on their lives and the lives of her children. Odom and her husband also adopted a child who was diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, which is a condition that occurs when a baby is born addicted to drugs and suffers withdrawal following their birth.

Odom shared her experiences learning about NAS with her adopted daughter and how that opened her eyes to the situation she was seeing with the clients at the Center.

Previously, Tennessee had a law on the books that would allow a woman to be charged with a crime if her child tested positive for illegal drugs (such as methamphetamine or heroin) when the child was born. The law was drafted with a “sunset” clause, which means if it wasn’t renewed by the legislature it fell off the books. Efforts to make the law permanent in Tennessee failed.

Odom is hoping the legislature will again adopt the law or something similar to hold pregnant women accountable for the harm they are causing their babies due to drug abuse.

“Where in life can you go and cause physical harm to another human being and not be charged,” Odom asked the group.

Both Clark and Staubus said they supported the previous law and prosecuted several individuals under it. The law provided a clause that the women could seek drug rehabilitation treatment and avoid any criminal penalties, which Clark and Staubus both said provided them with a strong tool as prosecutors to aid these women in getting the help they need.

“I think we are pro-life. I know I am and I know Tony is,” Staubus said. “Tony and I endorse this. I felt like this was a way to protect the lives of these children.”

Clark said in every case that he and Staubus handled except one, the woman chose to enter treatment. In that one case, Clark said the woman was facing some felony drug charges and pled to the charge related to her child’s birth as part of an agreement on all the charges.

Part of combating the problem will be taking on how the individuals are accessing opioid medications. Clark and Staubus are part of a lawsuit filed by a group of East Tennessee District Attorneys General against opioid prescription manufacturers. In the lawsuit, the District Attorneys claim the manufactures aggressively marketed opioid pain medication while denying or hiding the addictive nature of the drugs.

“There are so many clinics and pill mills now,” Clark said, adding law enforcement doesn’t have the resources to deal with the problem. “I can walk in and say my back’s hurting in 10 places in Johnson City right now, and I could get 30 Lortabs, or Oxycontins, or Roxies just by paying a $100 fee. I’m not seen, I’m not treated. It’s a five minute visit.”

The legislators and district attorneys also heard from two of the Center’s clients who are battling drug addiction. The clients talked about how they became hooked on pain medication, their experiences seeking treatment at Suboxone clinics, and how they are working to dose down.

One of the women shared the story of how her first child was born detoxing from Suboxone because the doctor handling her treatment at that time had told her the substance replacement therapy drug designed to treat her addiction to pain pills would not harm her child and the baby would not have to detox from Suboxone. The doctor turned out to be wrong, the woman said, and her child spent time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit detoxing from Suboxone. For her second pregnancy, she said the doctor refused to wean her off Suboxone, so she did it herself and her second child didn’t have to go through the withdrawals her first one did.

After hearing from Odom, the two women, and the concerns from the two district attorneys, the legislators asked what they could do to help.

“You’re the boots on the ground,” Crowe said. “Tell us where we’re falling short and what we need.”

The lawmakers asked Odom to send something describing the needs she sees and a proposal for legislation to their offices in Nashville.