Ruling for a Mother Whose Infant Tested Positive for Cocaine, It Said the Evidence Was Insufficient. Child protection workers did not prove that a Cape May County mother abused her infant even though the child tested positive for cocaine at birth, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous decision Wednesday. The decision overturned two lower-court decisions in the 2007 case. Drug tests alone do not substantiate abuse and protection workers must show actual or imminent harm, the justices wrote. [continues 485 words]
Woman in Prison for Killing Unborn Child to Get New Trial The S.C. Supreme Court on Monday overturned a conviction that sent a Conway woman to prison for 12 years. The court ruled that Regina McKnight, who was convicted in 2001 of homicide by child abuse after being accused of killing her unborn child with cocaine, must be granted a new trial. McKnight gave birth to a stillborn, 5-pound girl May 15, 1999. The baby's age was estimated at between 34 and 37 weeks. [continues 656 words]
Unanimous Ruling Finds Attorneys Erred in Case That Ended in Conviction A South Carolina woman convicted of homicide after her stillborn baby tested positive for cocaine should get a new trial because of mistakes her attorneys made, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday. Attorneys for Regina McKnight did not introduce the baby's autopsy report into evidence and failed to rebut the prosecution's medical expert, the court said in the unanimous decision. A spokesman for the state attorney general's office said he didn't immediately know whether prosecutors would appeal. They have 15 days to decide. [continues 334 words]
By Pete Guiter at Drugwarrant.com http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/2008/03/31.html#a2777 The report below is a fascinating read from the Florida NGO Consultation. They did not invite drug policy reformers to participate in their forum, and the report below reflects their mindset. It was a completely different experience from the Vancouver NGO Consultation. (See http://carbc.ca/portals/0/resources/Beyond2008.pdf ) http://www.spcollege.edu/central/collaborative/08/DFAF/DFAF_RTR.HTM [continues 649 words]
'This Is Not a Baby I Am Going to Lose' In the 1990s, experts warned that damaged children born to addict moms would overwhelm social systems. Now, science finds exposure to cocaine may wreak less havoc than alcohol or even tobacco -- hopeful news for families who yearn to turn their lives around. Jean looked at the ultrasound photograph of her unborn baby, taken precisely at 1:24 p.m. on May 5, 2001. She hardly could believe her eyes. This time, things would be different, she thought. This baby wouldn't be put up for adoption. At 39, and after two decades of crack cocaine use, she was being given another chance to be a mother. [continues 2964 words]
CHEYENNE -- A bill in the Wyoming House of Representatives to allow criminal prosecution of mothers who exposed their newborn children to methamphetamine in the womb is drawing criticism from a public health professionals nationwide who say it would discourage women from seeking medical care. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Elaine Harvey, R-Lovell, says she agrees that meth addicts need treatment. But she says addicts often won't seek treatment on their own, and says that's why the state needs to step in. [continues 543 words]
CHEYENNE - A bill in the Wyoming House of Representatives to allow criminal prosecution of mothers who expose their children to methamphetamine in the womb is drawing criticism from a public health professionals nationwide who say it would discourage women from seeking medical care. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Elaine Harvey, R-Lovell, said she agrees that meth addicts need treatment. But she said addicts often won't seek treatment on their own, and that's why the state needs to step in. [continues 544 words]
A Maryland Court Rules That Addicted Moms-To-Be Would Be Best Served by Treatment, Not Imprisonment Let's say you're pregnant. Driving without a seatbelt, playing ice hockey, subsisting on Cheetos: They may not be recommended by What to Expect When You're Expecting, but do they constitute illegal reckless "child endangerment" -- punishable by imprisonment? In a decision hailed by National Advocates for Pregnant Women, Maryland's highest court has, in effect, said no. "Imprisonment is not only the most costly thing the state could do," Lynn Paltrow of NAPW told the Washington Post. "It's the most family-destructive thing the state could do." [continues 523 words]
Maryland's reckless endangerment law cannot be used to prosecute women who give birth to babies exposed to illegal drugs, the state's high court ruled yesterday, overturning the convictions of two Eastern Shore mothers. Prosecutors said such charges were needed to protect children, but some advocates for pregnant women welcomed the decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals as an affirmation that such cases could make pregnant women vulnerable to prosecution for an array of potentially dangerous behaviors -- such as smoking cigarettes and driving without a seatbelt -- and that drug-using mothers need treatment, not punishment. [continues 485 words]
An average of one newborn a week has been placed in state custody because of a new state law that requires medical staff members to report mothers suspected of using illegal drugs. Before the law's passage, the state's child-abuse hot line did not accept reports of newborns affected by illegal drugs as abuse or neglect, leaving physicians frustrated by the prospect of sending a newborn home with a drug-abusing mother, said Sen. Tim Wooldridge, DParagould, who sponsored the legislation, Act 1176 of 2005. [continues 1895 words]
When I get Barbara Harris on the phone, there's a baby crying in the background. "This is our last baby," she says, referring to the foster child in her care. "My husband and I are getting too old for this." Since 1990, Harris has adopted four foster children, and has cared for over 50 children in the system-two more of which are in her home now. Over a period of only two years, Harris went from caring for one child, to taking on three more born from the same drug-addicted mother. It seemed to Harris that while there was a limit to how many children she could take in (she also has six birth-sons), there seemed to be no limit to how many babies this particular woman could produce. Harris' frustration over this woman's perceived carelessness motivated her to create the nonprofit organization CRACK. [continues 1742 words]
Controversial Group Targets Charlotte Area With Push To Sterilize HARRISBURG - An RV painted with a picture of a crying baby sits on Main Street in this small town, advertising an unusual offer for drug addicts: Get sterilized and get $200. It's one of the newest attention-grabbers Barbara Harris is using in her crusade to end the plague of "crack babies." For nearly a decade, her organization, Project Prevention, has gained national attention by offering $200 to drug addicts who show proof they are sterilized or use long-term birth control. [continues 941 words]
AUSTIN - State agencies and doctors are not required to report the use of illegal drugs by pregnant mothers, the office of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said in an opinion Thursday. The opinion was sought by Rep. Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie, who sponsored a bill designed to protect unborn children against third parties, such as drunken drivers and abusive spouses. Allen asked Abbot in July to clarify the law after a West Texas district attorney sent letters to physicians telling them to report any "abuse of children by voluntary injection of harmful narcotics by expectant mothers." [continues 423 words]
Female Population Soars In US Prisons Even as the number of women in US prisons more than doubled from 1992 to 2002, Rhode Island's female prisoner population remained fairly stable at about 200, says Cindy Drake, deputy warden for the women's facilities at the state Department of Corrections. "We'd like to think it's because we've made a commitment in the last 10 years," commented Teresa Foley, professional-services coordinator at the women's facilities, "that every woman [prisoner] has transitional programming." But Foley cautioned that a careful statistical analysis of DOC's results has yet to be completed. [continues 557 words]
AMARILLO, Texas - Health care providers and several women's groups say a West Texas district attorney's interpretation of a new state law violates doctor-patient confidentiality and could cause expectant mothers to avoid prenatal care. Rebecca King, district attorney of Potter and Armstrong counties, argues that obstetricians must tell authorities about illegal drug use by pregnant women under a law designed to protect unborn children. She says she will prosecute physicians if they persistently fail to report such drug use. She has gotten convictions against two expectant mothers and plans to prosecute more, citing the law passed last year that classifies unborn babies as individuals. The law permits criminal prosecution of adults who harm unborn children through illegal acts. [continues 538 words]
Melissa Ann Rowland won't win any medals for Mother of the Year. But prosecuting her for her son's murder is a big mistake. The 28-year-old Salt Lake City, Utah, woman has a history of mental illness, drug abuse and child abuse. She surrendered two children for adoption, and had two others taken away by the authorities. Now she's accused of murder because, while pregnant with twins, she defied her doctor's advice that her twins were in grave danger unless she had a Caesarean section. When she did submit to surgery about two weeks later, her son was stillborn and her daughter tested positive for cocaine and alcohol. [continues 620 words]
"CRIMINALIZING Motherhood" is how Silja J.A. Talvi, writing for The Nation, titled her piece on the case of a woman in South Carolina who is serving 12 years in prison for the "crime" of giving birth to a stillborn child. Writes Talvi: "As Regina McKnight grieved and held her third daughter Mercedes' lifeless body, she could never have imagined that she was about to become the first woman in America convicted for murder by using cocaine while pregnant." McKnight's plight is instructive not just to American women, but to women all over the world, especially here in the Philippines where incumbent officials--and other aspirants for public office--seem all too willing to barter women's rights for the electoral support of the Catholic hierarchy and other conservative elements. [continues 830 words]
Regina McKnight is doing twelve years in prison for a stillbirth, carving out a dangerous intersection between the drug war and the antichoice movement. In the eyes of the South Carolina Attorney General's office, McKnight committed murder. Her crime? Giving birth to a five-pound, stillborn baby. As McKnight grieved and held her third daughter Mercedes's lifeless body, she could never have imagined that she was about to become the first woman in America convicted for murder by using cocaine while pregnant. [continues 888 words]
Regina D. McKnight was found guilty in 1991 of killing a fetus by using cocaine. Surveys in California have put the number of women who take illegal drugs during pregnancy at about 11 percent. NEW YORK (KRT)-- Stacey Gilligan is accused of drinking so much vodka during her eighth month of pregnancy that her baby was born drunk. Tayshea Aiwohi is charged with consuming such huge amounts of crystal meth while she was pregnant that her son died of methamphetamine poisoning two days after his birth. [continues 1014 words]
City prosecutors are stepping into unchartered legal territory in Hawai'i with the upcoming trial of Tayshea Aiwohi, a 31-year-old Kane'ohe woman charged with poisoning her baby by using crystal methamphetamine while pregnant. Hers is the first prosecution here based on a pregnant woman's treatment of her fetus. City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle insists that state law permits prosecution, and says his office might even consider assault prosecutions of "meth moms" and heavy alcohol abusers whose babies are born injured and do not die. [continues 1024 words]
