Substance-exposed newborns
Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 8:33 pm
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http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh/lo ... ndarystory
Published: December 18, 2007 12:00 am
Charges dropped in child endangerment case; Woman had been accused of using heroin while pregnant
By James A. Kimble , Staff writer
Eagle-Tribune
HAMPSTEAD - Charges against a pregnant woman accused of injecting heroin while she was about 20 weeks pregnant have been dropped.
Prosecutors said they had no choice in tossing out the arrest of Nina Doane, 22, and her boyfriend, Albert Frost, 28, who had both been charged with misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child in late October. There are no laws in New Hampshire that offer protection to the unborn in criminal cases, according to Deputy County Attorney Tom Reid.
"The current law in New Hampshire doesn't recognize the fetus of an unborn child as another person under the criminal code," he said. "While we're all frustrated when we see individuals who engage in conduct that's harmful not only to themselves, but when a child is involved, the law doesn't support an unborn child as a victim."
Reid said the Doane matter didn't come to the attention of county prosecutors until recently. Doane was due in Plaistow District Court yesterday for her arraignment, but prosecutors officially dropped charges against her and Frost after meeting with Hampstead police last week, Reid said. Police had charged Frost for allegedly injecting Doane with heroin.
Hampstead police have not revealed how they came to arrest the couple, and the health of the unborn child has not been disclosed. Had they been convicted, Doane and Frost could have faced up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
So far, 30 states, including Massachusetts, have laws that recognize intentionally harming or killing a fetus as criminal. New Hampshire lawmakers have struggled in recent years to include protection for the unborn in criminal laws.
The latest attempt failed last year when the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee considered a bill to define an unborn child as another person in murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide cases.
"The unborn child is like a nonentity," said Rep. James Garrity, R-Atkinson, who cosponsored the bill. "If somebody shoots a pregnant woman two days away from delivery and the unborn child is killed, where's the justice? There is none."
He said bills in New Hampshire to protect unborn children from crime have drawn the ire of pro-choice advocates and others involved in the abortion debate.
"Even if you're trying to keep the abortion issue out on its own - we're trying to help victims of violent crime - unfortunately, in today's climate, the lobbyists on both sides come out screaming," Garrity said.
He said the dropped charges against Doane are a "case in point" of why a law is needed. "It doesn't seem right that someone can (commit) a crime and there's no punishment," he said.
According to the state's Child Protection Bureau, 34 percent of its 6,929 investigations in New Hampshire last year involved substance abuse that affected a child.
In Southern New Hampshire, 33 percent of the 477 neglect cases involved substance abuse that impacted children. Those cases included parents addicted to a variety of drugs, both illegal or over-the-counter. The state does not track how many children are born addicted to a substance or the types of substances.
This
He said the dropped charges against Doane are a "case in point" of why a law is needed. "It doesn't seem right that someone can (commit) a crime and there's no punishment," he said.
According to the state's Child Protection Bureau, 34 percent of its 6,929 investigations in New Hampshire last year involved substance abuse that affected a child.
In Southern New Hampshire, 33 percent of the 477 neglect cases involved substance abuse that impacted children. Those cases included parents addicted to a variety of drugs, both illegal or
over-the-counter.
The state does not track how many children are born addicted to a substance or the types of substances.
.
http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh/lo ... ndarystory
Published: December 18, 2007 12:00 am
Charges dropped in child endangerment case; Woman had been accused of using heroin while pregnant
By James A. Kimble , Staff writer
Eagle-Tribune
HAMPSTEAD - Charges against a pregnant woman accused of injecting heroin while she was about 20 weeks pregnant have been dropped.
Prosecutors said they had no choice in tossing out the arrest of Nina Doane, 22, and her boyfriend, Albert Frost, 28, who had both been charged with misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child in late October. There are no laws in New Hampshire that offer protection to the unborn in criminal cases, according to Deputy County Attorney Tom Reid.
"The current law in New Hampshire doesn't recognize the fetus of an unborn child as another person under the criminal code," he said. "While we're all frustrated when we see individuals who engage in conduct that's harmful not only to themselves, but when a child is involved, the law doesn't support an unborn child as a victim."
Reid said the Doane matter didn't come to the attention of county prosecutors until recently. Doane was due in Plaistow District Court yesterday for her arraignment, but prosecutors officially dropped charges against her and Frost after meeting with Hampstead police last week, Reid said. Police had charged Frost for allegedly injecting Doane with heroin.
Hampstead police have not revealed how they came to arrest the couple, and the health of the unborn child has not been disclosed. Had they been convicted, Doane and Frost could have faced up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine.
So far, 30 states, including Massachusetts, have laws that recognize intentionally harming or killing a fetus as criminal. New Hampshire lawmakers have struggled in recent years to include protection for the unborn in criminal laws.
The latest attempt failed last year when the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee considered a bill to define an unborn child as another person in murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide cases.
"The unborn child is like a nonentity," said Rep. James Garrity, R-Atkinson, who cosponsored the bill. "If somebody shoots a pregnant woman two days away from delivery and the unborn child is killed, where's the justice? There is none."
He said bills in New Hampshire to protect unborn children from crime have drawn the ire of pro-choice advocates and others involved in the abortion debate.
"Even if you're trying to keep the abortion issue out on its own - we're trying to help victims of violent crime - unfortunately, in today's climate, the lobbyists on both sides come out screaming," Garrity said.
He said the dropped charges against Doane are a "case in point" of why a law is needed. "It doesn't seem right that someone can (commit) a crime and there's no punishment," he said.
According to the state's Child Protection Bureau, 34 percent of its 6,929 investigations in New Hampshire last year involved substance abuse that affected a child.
In Southern New Hampshire, 33 percent of the 477 neglect cases involved substance abuse that impacted children. Those cases included parents addicted to a variety of drugs, both illegal or over-the-counter. The state does not track how many children are born addicted to a substance or the types of substances.
This
He said the dropped charges against Doane are a "case in point" of why a law is needed. "It doesn't seem right that someone can (commit) a crime and there's no punishment," he said.
According to the state's Child Protection Bureau, 34 percent of its 6,929 investigations in New Hampshire last year involved substance abuse that affected a child.
In Southern New Hampshire, 33 percent of the 477 neglect cases involved substance abuse that impacted children. Those cases included parents addicted to a variety of drugs, both illegal or
over-the-counter.
The state does not track how many children are born addicted to a substance or the types of substances.
.