Byron Dorgan: “I toured a hospital one day. He talks about fetal alcohol syndrome. A young Native American woman had just given birth…”

“I toured a hospital one day. He talks about fetal alcohol syndrome. A young Native American woman had just given birth to a baby. The woman was an alcoholic. The baby was born with a .21 blood-alcohol content, a young baby born dead drunk. This woman, having had a third baby, wanted nothing to do with that child, didn't want to see that child. That child will probably have fetal alcohol syndrome. But I was down at a hospital not far from this building and I saw babies born from crack-addicted mothers, and I saw babies born drug addicted, addicted to hard drugs. The doctors told me what those babies are like as they try to shed this addiction, being born of mothers who had taken drugs during this pregnancy. We have problems in all of these areas. I do not deny that. But this program deals with drugs. I think it has a chance of working. I hope we can allow that to happen with this vote.”