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5/13/2005
A judge in Racine County, Wis., has
ordered a pregnant woman addicted to OxyContin to be jailed, saying that
the fetus needs to be protected from the mother's addiction.
The
Associated Press reported May 12 that Judge Charles Constantine
ordered Rachael Lowe, 20, to be confined while county officials gather
medical records for a hearing next week. Lowe has been held at St.
Luke's Hospital since April 29.
The woman's husband, Michael, asked the court to free his wife, saying
she is scheduled to enter an intensive outpatient treatment program and
also needs an obstetrical exam.
Wisconsin law allows pregnant women to be held in hospitals if they are
found to be addicted to alcohol or other drugs that could harm their
unborn children.
The judge criticized officials for moving slowly on the case, but when
Michael Lowe asked why his wife should be punished for the government's
mistakes, Constantine replied: "Don't get me started. You know why she's
suffering? Because she's 29 weeks pregnant and the child is in the
uterus with a drug cocktail. You wouldn't be here unless your wife
didn't have a substance-abuse problem."
Michael Lowe said his wife had sought help voluntarily, and that the
confinement sent a bad message to other pregnant addicts. "Why detain
her and hold her locked up in a psychiatric ward for wanting to better
herself? I don't understand that," he said.
Source:
Join Together
Online.
Join Together is a project of the
Boston University School of Public Health |
