Ten Years After Tennessee Sunset Historic Fetal Assault Law, Harmful Impacts Remain

Tennessee's 2014 fetal assault law, which allowed prosecution for drug use during pregnancy, was repealed in 2016 but left lasting harm on families, particularly Black and white women. Advocacy groups continue to oppose efforts to revive the law, which led to 124 arrests between 2014 and 2016. Darnell Towns-Gedeus, a pregnant woman, faced drug testing and potential child services involvement after receiving a medication that can falsely trigger opioid test results.