When a pregnant woman consumes alcohol or other drugs, the substances are transferred through the placenta to the fetus. Consumption of alcohol during pregnancy has been shown to pose a greater risk of significant and more permanent birth defects than other drugs. Fetal damage as a result of a woman's use of alcohol during pregnancy has been described as the third major fetal damage tragedy of modern times. The purpose of the thesis is to define the legal status of the fetus in relation to the need for and possibility of compulsory care of a pregnant addict in accordance with current law, and, if necessary, to discuss a change in current law, taking into account corresponding legislation in other legal systems. In Swedish law, there is no jurisprudential survey of the legal status of the foetus to draw on. The legal status of the foetus will therefore be examined from a broader perspective. In addition to so-called formal legal sources such as laws, preparatory works, customs, case law and doctrine, lower court judgments will also be studied. These are cases under the Act (1988:870) on the care of addicts in certain cases, LVM, where the woman was pregnant when the compulsory care was examined. The purpose of the study of lower court decisions is to analyze in more detail the application of the law with regard to compulsory care of pregnant substance abusers.