Schumer: Plan Needed for Kids Born Addicted to Prescription Drugs

(NEW YORK) -- Senator Charles Schumer is calling for immediate action to be taken to address the problem of children being born addicted to prescription drugs.

In a release Monday, Senator Schumer outlined that a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association recently, indicated that approximately 3.4 of every 1,000 infants born in 2009 suffered from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome -- which is children being born addicted to prescription painkillers or other opiates. The senator said this trend calls for a nationwide plan to be implemented to address the problem.

"It’s become a sad fact that the latest victims of the prescription drug crisis in this country are the most vulnerable in our society, innocent babies," Schumer said in a statement. "About one baby per hour is born addicted to prescription drugs or other opiates, and we must act now to reduce that alarming statistic and prevent this growing trend from spiraling out of control."

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