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New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy[W:8]

Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

New Mother Charged With Assault for Using Meth During Pregnancy - NBC News

My thoughts are, if she hadn't been using illegal drugs to start with, she wouldn't have been arrested.

And can we talk about the arrest, and not turn this into a pro-life/pro-choice argument?

I think it is going to be hard to separate the her drug use vs. pro-life/pro-choice. I say that because she is being charged with assault and not with possession. The charge itself will spark the debate.
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Yeah, true. I just think that there is more to the conversation than that.
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

New Mother Charged With Assault for Using Meth During Pregnancy - NBC News

My thoughts are, if she hadn't been using illegal drugs to start with, she wouldn't have been arrested.

And can we talk about the arrest, and not turn this into a pro-life/pro-choice argument?

Guessing someone is up for reelection? What is next, arresting women for having sex during pregnancy because the baby is a victim of underage sex? How about taking a glass of wine? Or riding a bike? Or living in a major city where there is a lot of pollution?
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

How about she be charged with more serous charges like attempted murder etc?

How about whether she should ever be able to be that child's mother again?

I've had my run-in with meth in my life and it causes you to do messed up stuff but, once you know you're going to be a parent, that should be enough reason to seek help and beat your addiction.
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

New Mother Charged With Assault for Using Meth During Pregnancy - NBC News

My thoughts are, if she hadn't been using illegal drugs to start with, she wouldn't have been arrested.

And can we talk about the arrest, and not turn this into a pro-life/pro-choice argument?

Personally, I think this is a waste of resources. Great job creator for attorneys and judges. I can see removing the child from her care, which I assume is going to happen anyway, but prosecuting her for assault? What purpose does that serve?
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

New Mother Charged With Assault for Using Meth During Pregnancy - NBC News

My thoughts are, if she hadn't been using illegal drugs to start with, she wouldn't have been arrested.

And can we talk about the arrest, and not turn this into a pro-life/pro-choice argument?

Two Days? and they arrest and charge her. How did they establish addiction? The article only said baby tested positive. It's stupid law anyway. It's not about helping/rehabbing a person, it's about private, for-profit prison system.
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Moderator's Warning:
Lets make this easy for the OP and make this official. Do not make this about pro-life/pro-choice. There is indeed more to talk about with this story than pro-life/pro-choice.
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Guessing someone is up for reelection? What is next, arresting women for having sex during pregnancy because the baby is a victim of underage sex? How about taking a glass of wine? Or riding a bike? Or living in a major city where there is a lot of pollution?

Let me tell you a story Pete.

I had a relationship with a woman back in my 20s who ended up getting pregnant and wanted to give the baby up for adoption.

She had a meth habit that extended well into the pregnancy. When the baby was born, she has blisters all over her body and several other reactions to the meth use.

It wasn't an occasional glass of wine or living in unhealthy air quality, it was purposeful. You might be addicted to a substance but, you're fully aware of the fact that you're pregnant and that you are still using.

Had that law been in effect back then, I would absolutely think she should have been charged.

FWIW it's not a local law. 38 states have some sort of fetal protection laws on the books.

Fetal Homicide State Laws
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Let me tell you a story Pete.

I had a relationship with a woman back in my 20s who ended up getting pregnant and wanted to give the baby up for adoption.

She had a meth habit that extended well into the pregnancy. When the baby was born, she has blisters all over her body and several other reactions to the meth use.

It wasn't an occasional glass of wine or living in unhealthy air quality, it was purposeful. You might be addicted to a substance but, you're fully aware of the fact that you're pregnant and that you are still using.

Had that law been in effect back then, I would absolutely think she should have been charged.

FWIW it's not a local law. 38 states have some sort of fetal protection laws on the books.

Fetal Homicide State Laws

Is this new mother a regular meth user? Any evidence of this?

But my point is that these laws are scary as hell and have been abused by prosecutors looking for reelection. Case in point.. Rennie Gibbs. Charged with 1. degree murder after losing her baby to a still birth in the 36th week. The cops found out that she used cocaine.. once while pregnant. There was no link between that and the death of the baby, but 4 years after the tragic still birth, she was arrested and charged with murder. It took 4 years on top of that for the case to be thrown out... And this is not the only example.

These laws are leading down the road to El Salvador like laws that put women in prison for miss-carriages. Is that what you want? That any environmental aspect can basically make a pregnant woman a criminal if she has a miss-carriage?
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Is this new mother a regular meth user? Any evidence of this?

But my point is that these laws are scary as hell and have been abused by prosecutors looking for reelection. Case in point.. Rennie Gibbs. Charged with 1. degree murder after losing her baby to a still birth in the 36th week. The cops found out that she used cocaine.. once while pregnant. There was no link between that and the death of the baby, but 4 years after the tragic still birth, she was arrested and charged with murder. It took 4 years on top of that for the case to be thrown out... And this is not the only example.

These laws are leading down the road to El Salvador like laws that put women in prison for miss-carriages. Is that what you want? That any environmental aspect can basically make a pregnant woman a criminal if she has a miss-carriage?

You're using extreme examples of laws being misplaced whereas pregnant women using drugs and harming their unborn child is more them common.

Stick to the relevant argument.
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Good. She clearly committed assault.

Using recreational drugs on yourself - and only yourself - ought not to be illegal and should always be your choice, as you're not hurting anyone but yourself.

Using drugs on your kids like this is not acceptable.
 
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Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

I suppose this law also covers cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. Did they test for nicotine? Did they test for her BAC? How about Mary Jane?

Is it bad to do those things while pregnant? Yes, most all medical professionals agree that whatever you put into your system will also be in the system of the fetus. Like pickles and ice cream.

Greasy foods and a high carbohydrate level. Or, tons of sweets. If your fetus can't handle a little meth, is it a viable candidate for person hood?

Detox the new born baby and go on with life. If the Mother hits up the baby on go fast, arrest her and throw her into the slammer. What is happening today in health care is people are starting to refuse to give bodily fluids to the medical staff because they know that instead of looking for symptoms of ailment, they are simply being drug tested.
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Guessing someone is up for reelection? What is next, arresting women for having sex during pregnancy because the baby is a victim of underage sex? How about taking a glass of wine? Or riding a bike? Or living in a major city where there is a lot of pollution?

I can't believe you are trying to compare using meth while pregnant to riding a bike.
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Two Days? and they arrest and charge her. How did they establish addiction? The article only said baby tested positive. It's stupid law anyway. It's not about helping/rehabbing a person, it's about private, for-profit prison system.

According to the article, they both tested positive.

Mallory Loyola, 26, was arrested Tuesday, two days after giving birth to a baby girl, because she and her newborn tested positive for methamphetamine, Monroe County Sheriff Bill Bivens said.
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

I suppose this law also covers cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. Did they test for nicotine? Did they test for her BAC? How about Mary Jane?

Is it bad to do those things while pregnant? Yes, most all medical professionals agree that whatever you put into your system will also be in the system of the fetus. Like pickles and ice cream.

Greasy foods and a high carbohydrate level. Or, tons of sweets. If your fetus can't handle a little meth, is it a viable candidate for person hood?

Detox the new born baby and go on with life. If the Mother hits up the baby on go fast, arrest her and throw her into the slammer. What is happening today in health care is people are starting to refuse to give bodily fluids to the medical staff because they know that instead of looking for symptoms of ailment, they are simply being drug tested.

Did you really say that??
 
New Mother Charged With Assault for Using Meth During Pregnancy - NBC News

My thoughts are, if she hadn't been using illegal drugs to start with, she wouldn't have been arrested.

And can we talk about the arrest, and not turn this into a pro-life/pro-choice argument?

I read that and wondered: since the law is that strict then what programs does the state fund to help pregnant women who ARE addicts actually QUIT while they're pregnant?

It comes across this way: Be an addict and struggle with this - then nature happens - and then . . . . Magically quit cold turkey? If you can't quit cold turkey without any support or assistance - then you're destined for jail.

Here:
Bivens said he thinks the law will have the opposite effect, and motivate addicted mothers-to-be to seek care.

IS there HELP? Doesn't really sound like it. If there is - the article doesn't discuss state run cessation programs at all.

In truth: you're better off birthing a child at home or just having an abortion.

Yet at the same time I've heard (supposedly - from the sources of mothers) that tobacco addicts are sometimes told NOT to quit while pregnant because it would cause undo stress which could impact the baby.
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

According to the article, they both tested positive.

Thanks. I saw that but what bothered me is: the law; “A woman may be prosecuted for assault for the illegal use of a narcotic drug while pregnant, if her child is born addicted to or harmed by the narcotic drug,” Are they going to hold her until there is proof of addiction to the baby and where is the proof of harm? It's right after birth. It just says tested positive - nothing about addiction or harm. The law seems to charge and imprison people for what might happen before it is shown to have happened.

Don't get me wrong. Every thing about Meth is wrong and bad. That's the consequence of the failed "war on drugs" But is this a new way around due process in the name of profit?
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Is this new mother a regular meth user? Any evidence of this?

Yes, there is. My curiosity was piqued by the photo at the OP's ABC link. Part of the image was obscured by text, but I saw the sore at the edge of her forehead and wanted to see the complete image. Mallory Loyola looks like a meth-head.

ABC national picked up the story from an affiliate. Loyala has a history of "meth-related arrests." Monroe County arrests mother of drug-positive infant under new l
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Thanks. I saw that but what bothered me is: the law; “A woman may be prosecuted for assault for the illegal use of a narcotic drug while pregnant, if her child is born addicted to or harmed by the narcotic drug,” Are they going to hold her until there is proof of addiction to the baby and where is the proof of harm? It's right after birth. It just says tested positive - nothing about addiction or harm. The law seems to charge and imprison people for what might happen before it is shown to have happened.

Don't get me wrong. Every thing about Meth is wrong and bad. That's the consequence of the failed "war on drugs" But is this a new way around due process in the name of profit?

Personally, I don't see this, at all, as a way around due process. I think it has everything to do with protecting the life of this baby. It's quite simple, really. If people don't want to be arrested, don't use meth while you are pregnant. Easy, peasy. Obviously they aren't compelled to stop using for, oh, I don't know, protecting their child. Maybe they can be compelled to stop using if a jail sentence and removal of the child from the home is held over their heads.

Actually, removal of the child from the home would be ideal for the child. :shrug:
 
Re: New Mother Charged with Assault for using Meth during Pregnancy

Personally, I don't see this, at all, as a way around due process. I think it has everything to do with protecting the life of this baby. It's quite simple, really. If people don't want to be arrested, don't use meth while you are pregnant. Easy, peasy. Obviously they aren't compelled to stop using for, oh, I don't know, protecting their child. Maybe they can be compelled to stop using if a jail sentence and removal of the child from the home is held over their heads.

Actually, removal of the child from the home would be ideal for the child. :shrug:

Okay, who ordered the test and why? Is it because she had given birth. Does given birth now automatically give consent to search and seizure? If they "asked" for permission, was it while she was heavily doped up (legally) for delivery (of sound mind)? If permission is before hand, that's a trap. She has to deliver. That's the problem I have.

If they can't make a wise choice to stay away from meth to begin with they certainly won't figure in the possibility of becoming pregnant.

Meth is bad. Let's try to help the women First then deal with possible pregnancies. For this it's 'let's wait until she has a baby then we will intervene'. More damage is done by this method.
 
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