Is it considered a crime, if a mother harms her child while she is still carrying it. I.E. Drinking, doing drugs, smoking, fighting, too much physical activity? I understand if someone else harms the mother while she is pregnant and it has a effect on the unborn child, then it is a double crime. Can a mother be prosecuted for harming her child?
2006-10-27 07:19:40 · 9 answers · asked by ttuchriswooden 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
perfect example of that where i live. a woman(on her due date) began labor and got scared(she has two other children) she drove to an abondoned parking lot and shot herself in the stomach-killing her full term baby-. she then claimed someone else shot her. Police were out looking for a suspect when they questioned her at the hospital. she confessed to shooting herself. The DA tried to have her tried for murder(which we all assumed she would clearly be found guilty of) her case went to trial and she was found not guilty because abortion is not illegal and she induced her own abortion. now here is the messed up part, had someone else actually shot her causing her baby to die they could be found guilty of murdering the child and wounding her. This is why the government is so messed up. She committed murder her d amn self and got away with it. when asked after the trial last week how she felt she responded"I am glad this is all over with so I can move on with my life." like my daddy used to say," People in hell want a glass of icewater but that don't mean they gonna get it!
2006-10-27 07:35:34 · answer #1 · answered by ABC 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure if she can be prosecuted, but she sure as hell can lose the baby. If she is doing drugs or drinking they will be able to test her to find out and also test the baby once they are born. Smoking though, unfortunately, they do nothing about. I'm a smoker and it was not even a question to stop during both of my pregnancies. My body was not my own anymore. I was sharing it with another little person who had no say.
I'm sure if she got caught with the drugs, she would be prosecuted and then lose the baby once they were born, so I guess in a way she could. Not sure really, but a great question to ask.
2006-10-27 07:30:14 · answer #2 · answered by lil_hem_n_va 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well Rush Limbaugh and Mel Gibson are men so they can do as they please. No I dont think that a woman should be charged with a crime for smoking, drinking or anything legal. After all if she doesnt want it she can just get an abortion. So if she can kill it then how can we say she cant smoke or drink.
2006-10-27 07:26:26 · answer #3 · answered by elaeblue 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely...If a woman is under the care of a physician, and he/she suspects drug, alcohol abuse...by law the physician must confront the patient, offer for her to take a drug test, (if she refuses...she must be reported to social services) if the test comes back positive...she must be reported to social services, who will then seek out the pregnant woman, offer her services...drug counseling, etc..if she refuses, and continues to abuse drugs, alcohol...she can be arrested...for child abuse.
If a baby at the time of birth...is found to be born addicted to drugs or have alcohol syndrome...the baby is placed in protective care.
As for domestic abuse...that must also be reported...by law...
2006-10-27 07:36:18 · answer #4 · answered by swampfox conservative 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
her child will be taken away from her, so yes. Last I checked, NOBODY went to jail for being a drug addict or an alcoholic. Not even Rush Limbaugh or Mel Gibson
2006-10-27 07:23:37 · answer #5 · answered by hichefheidi 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No...and the double murder law only applies in 29 states, it is not a federal law.
2006-10-28 03:54:00 · answer #6 · answered by wendy g 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wish there would be strict laws about this because i feel that it is a serious form of child abuse.
2006-10-27 08:10:13 · answer #7 · answered by KRH 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It has been tried, but I do not think that it has ever been successful.
2006-10-27 07:28:28 · answer #8 · answered by Preacher 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sorry but no! you should ask a liberal why!
2006-10-27 07:23:34 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋