The Color of Justice 5th Edition by Samuel Walker,Cassia Spohn,Miriam DeLone

Exercise 5

Randall Kennedy, the author of Race, Crime, and the Law , argues (p. 10) that it is sometimes difficult to determine "whether, or for whom, a given disparity is harmful." Regarding the prosecution of pregnant women who abuse drugs, he states that "Some critics attack as racist prosecutions of pregnant drug addicts on the grounds that such prosecutions disproportionately burden blacks." But, he asks, "on balance, are black communities hurt by prosecutions of pregnant women for using illicit drugs harmful to their unborn babies or helped by intervention which may at least plausibly deter conduct that will put black unborn children at risk?" How would you answer this question?