The Drug Policy Alliance has been on the forefront of combating myths concerning pregnancy and drug use (particularly cocaine use). DPA has represented the nation's leading medical and public health professionals in state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. In these cases, amicus (friend-of-the-court) briefs have been filed challenging the prosecution of women who are pregnant and use drugs, and the nonconsensual drug testing of these women.

Professionals represented by DPA are united in the belief that the best way to prevent substance abuse during pregnancy and to reduce potential harms to fetal and child development is to strengthen the relationship between parents and health care and social services providers. By contrast, policies which threaten pregnant women with sanctions for drug use deter these women from seeking or receiving basic health care, including nutritional and substance abuse services, for fear that medical and social services providers will report them to authorities. The net effect of such policies is to endanger - not protect - the health and well being of mothers, fetuses and children.

Prevailing scientific and medical evidence suggest that the social and environmental circumstances of a woman's pregnancy, as opposed to the drugs themselves, have a more deleterious effect on the pregnancy.

National Advocates for Pregnant Women is an organization devoted to protecting the rights and promoting the health of women who are pregnant and the target of such prosecutions.