This is a guest opinion column

Prosecutors and law enforcement in Alabama have made clear who they believe is public enemy number one: pregnant women.

As recently reported by AL.com and The Marshall Project, Alabama leads the country in policing the behavior of pregnant women, with law enforcement and prosecutors expanding their interpretation of child abuse and neglect laws.

This trend was increasing in Alabama even when Roe v. Wade was in place. Without Roe, we know that police and prosecutors across the country are more emboldened to target pregnant women for suffering miscarriages or stillbirths or using substances, often under the guise of “fetal personhood” and “protecting the unborn.”

In Alabama, we’ve tracked nearly 650 pregnancy-related chemical endangerment cases. In Etowah County alone, where many women were historically incarcerated indefinitely pre-trial, we’ve documented more than 150 cases and AL.com has reported more than 250 cases. We’ve provided legal support to nearly two dozen women who were thrown behind bars in the county, accused of putting their unborn children at risk with alleged substance use — even if that substance was prescribed medication or was used before the woman knew she was pregnant.

These prosecutors and law enforcement officials claim they are protecting children, but they are actually responsible for creating dangerous conditions for pregnant women, jeopardizing not only their health but that of their growing babies.

I’ve seen firsthand how horrific and unsafe the conditions are in Etowah County Jail. I’ve heard from my pregnant clients who have been forced to sleep on the cold, hard jail floor due to overcrowding and lack of beds. Women have had inadequate nutrition and have even gone hungry for days. Others have experienced substandard or completely absent prenatal and postpartum care, even when they had documented high-risk pregnancies. Others have suffered physical and sexual abuse while pregnant. One woman lost her baby after receiving such poor medical treatment in jail that she leaked amniotic fluid for five days before being taken to the hospital, even though she constantly pleaded for help.

Despite these unacceptable conditions, officials are still hellbent on keeping pregnant women in jail as long as possible. Even after our legal advocacy forced the Etowah County Jail to adjust its discriminatory bond policies that held pregnant women detained for substance use to a different standard, keeping them in jail for months until they completed in-patient rehab that they often did not need—they are still finding cynical ways to keep pregnant women in jail for months.

Prosecuting and detaining pregnant women in hazardous jails does not protect children. These stories should serve as a wake-up call for law enforcement.

Not only are there mountains of evidence to prove that substance use during pregnancy is not an indication that a parent would mistreat or abuse their child, but data also shows that the best treatment for infants who do experience some level of withdrawal is to have continuous physical connection with the mother through skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding.

Protecting children would mean embracing supportive policies and systems for pregnant individuals that have tangible, evidence-based outcomes for children and families. This includes access to consistent and comprehensive prenatal care, mental health services, housing and job support, substance use treatment, and other socioeconomic assistance.

Instead, local prosecutors in Alabama have perpetuated an environment of fear, causing pregnant women to avoid seeking proper medical care and support. In Alabama, which already has incredibly high rates of maternal mortality, clients often tell me they delay or avoid seeking prenatal care altogether for fear of state interference and loss of their kids. Even Alabama’s own Maternal Mortality Review Board asserts that “punitive measures for pregnant women with mental health and substance use disorders must be eliminated, in order to create an environment that encourages them to seek assistance during pregnancy.”

Jail is not a hospital, or a mental health facility, or a rehab, or a birthing center. If these local and state officials truly care about positive outcomes for children, they need to end this punitive approach and stop criminally prosecuting pregnant women who simply need support.

Emma Roth is a staff attorney with the legal advocacy nonprofit organization Pregnancy Justice and represents pregnant and postpartum women facing chemical endangerment charges throughout Alabama.