Pubdate: Wed, 03 Apr 2002
Source: City Paper (MD)
Copyright: 2002 Baltimore City Paper
Contact:  http://www.citypaper.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/610
Author: Janine Holc
Note: Two leading drug policy reform organizations opposed to CRACK 
are Family Watch http://www.familywatch.org/ and National Advocates 
for Pregnant Women http://advocatesforpregnantwomen.org/
Facts: Cocaine and Pregnancy http://drugwarfacts.org/pregnant.htm

CRACK DOWN

The March 13 edition of the City Paper published an article 
describing a program that targets people of color for sterilization 
(Mobtown Beat, March 13). The article was misleading, in that it 
downplayed the ethical implications of the program and the extent of 
opposition to it.

The program, called Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity (CRACK), 
claims its intent is to help poor women and men who use drugs acquire 
birth control. It offers a small sum of money (usually $200) to those 
who will undertake long-term (three-month) Depo-Provera treatments, 
vasectomies, or tubal ligations. The program's effectiveness depends 
on the vulnerability of individuals in Baltimore addicted to crack 
cocaine--mostly African-Americans--to offers of quick cash. The small 
sum isn't intended to help anyone get off drugs. The goal of the 
program is to control the reproductive decisions of a certain group 
of people.

The article should have mentioned that not a single professional 
medical association, federal, state, or city department, or nonprofit 
group working with the poor finds CRACK to be a legitimate 
organization. CRACK has been driven out of Oakland, Calif., by public 
protests. A number of books and articles have been published that 
expose CRACK. A quick Internet search would have turned them up.

CRACK assumes most of us white City Paper readers won't protest its 
eugenic campaign. It assumes we agree that poor people of color who 
are substance abusers are the source of our city's problems. It 
assumes that we agree that it is appropriate to target certain 
demographic groups for sterilization. Is CRACK right?

Janine Holc Baltimore
- ---
MAP posted-by: Josh