Legal applications and implications for neurotoxin research of the developing organism

Research on perinatal/prenatal exposure of the immature organism to neurotoxins, including drugs of abuse, therapeutic drugs, and environmental toxins is of interest not only to the scientific community but to the legal community as well. Research findings on damage to the developing organism are being assimilated into public policy through criminal and civil court decisions as well as the enactment of statutes and administrative regulations. This article describes cases concerning injuries to infants resulting from prenatal or perinatal neurotoxin exposure, relates the interpretation of relevant scientific data to the issues raised by these cases, and presents the interpretations made by the courts in their decisions. The three types of cases discussed deal with drugs of abuse, therapeutic drugs, and environmental toxins.