This study examines ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news programs from 1983 to 1994 to understand the images associated with crack mothers (i.e., women who used crack or cocaine during pregnancy). Qualitative analysis shows that over time, news framed maternal crack/cocaine use in at least three ways. First, White middle-class women were presented as psychologically addicted, as guilt-ridden for having exposed their babies to cocaine, and as motivated to succeed in treatment. Second, Black poor women were represented as mindlessly addicted, as knowingly having exposed their fetuses to the adversity of crack, and as unwilling to enter treatment. Third, Black poor women were subsequently represented as physically and spiritually depleted, as having regretted prior drug use, and as enthusiastic drug treatment clients, if only to regain custody of their children. Findings are discussed in terms of drugs scares, racial disparity, and the reproductive rights of women.
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