When Is a Bad Mother a Criminal? From the Times Magazine: In Alabama, exposing a fetus to a "controlled substance, chemical substance or drug paraphernalia" is a crime. Amanda Kimbrough tested positive for methamphetamine after her son was born prematurely and was sentenced to 10 years in prison following his death. Reasonable response to a mother who uses while pregnant, or "pregnancy police" taken to the farthest extremes?