Crack babies, ännu en epidemi som inte var

Uppföljning av tidigare larm är god journalistik, och det är intressant att se gamla käpphästar (som exempelvis pilgrimsfalken) utvärderas med facit i hand. New York Times skriver nu om crack babies, ett begrepp som ingen som haft minsta intresse av tidigare decenniers samhällsdebatt kan ha undgått. Ur artikeln:

But now researchers are systematically following children who were exposed to cocaine before birth, and their findings suggest that the encouraging stories of Ms. H.’s daughters are anything but unusual. So far, these scientists say, the long-term effects of such exposure on children’s brain development and behavior appear relatively small.
/.../
But cocaine use in pregnancy has been treated as a moral issue rather than a health problem, Dr. Frank said. Pregnant women who use illegal drugs commonly lose custody of their children, and during the 1990s many were prosecuted and jailed.

(Via CJR - även Reason skrev om artikeln)