Court rules mothers’ drug use in pregnancy isn’t child abuse – IOTW Report

Court rules mothers’ drug use in pregnancy isn’t child abuse

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Pennsylvania’s highest court ruled Friday that mothers who use illegal drugs while pregnant cannot be considered perpetrators of child abuse against their newly born children under the state’s child protection law.

The Supreme Court’s main opinion said the law’s definition of a child does not include fetuses or unborn children, and victims of perpetrators must be children under the Child Protective Services Law.

“The fact that the actor, at a later date, becomes a person who meets one of the statutorily-defined categories of ‘perpetrator’ does not bring her earlier actions — even if committed within two years of the child’s bodily injury — under the CPSL,” wrote Justice Christine Donohue.

Two justices who dissented said what should matter is when the injury shows itself, and that can be after the child is born.

“The facts in this matter more closely resemble neglect cases where the injury manifests at some point in time after the neglect as in cases of malnourishment from lack of food, or suffering from a severe diaper rash from failure to routinely change diapers,” wrote Justice Sallie Mundy, joined by Justice Debra Todd.

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11 Comments on Court rules mothers’ drug use in pregnancy isn’t child abuse

  1. “The facts in this matter more closely resemble neglect cases where the injury manifests at some point in time after the neglect as in cases of malnourishment from lack of food, or suffering from a severe diaper rash from failure to routinely change diapers,” wrote Justice Sallie Mundy, joined by Justice Debra Todd.”
    Justice Sallie Mundy – 5 children
    Justice Debra Todd – She is married to Attorney Steve Todd, and they have three adult children and four grandchildren.
    Seems rolling the dice, these two know what’s important.
    Sarc

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  2. The lack of honoring children that is growing world wide, is progressive genocide. Abortion, abuse, debauchery, permissiveness, allowing extreme government to over-ride parental morality and educational choices; children are losing the battle.

    Maybe the “lost civilizations” of history, have an explanation: survival of childhood became impossible? Sometimes it feels like animals have more care and reverence than our children.

    It would probably surprise many of us to compare how much was spent on children compared to pets, this last Christmas.

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  3. We have activist judges across this country that overstep and think they’re god. It’s going to be some time before anything ever gets done about it. I hope we start with eliminating lifetime appointments.

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  4. Had the mother used tobacco products – child abuse. Home schooling – child abuse. Refusing to teach pre-school children about LGBT lifestyles – child abuse. Teaching children to think for themselves – child abuse. Spanking children – child abuse. Disciplining children – child abuse.

    Things not considered child abuse include drug use during pregnancy, scraping a child out of womb, raising your child to be homosexual before the child knows what this is, letting your child dance in gay or transgender clubs, encouraging children to be born out of wedlock, and hauling your child hundreds of miles across third world countries to illegally cross borders.

    Remember – when a progressive claims to want something “for the children,” it means they want to harm or kill your kids.

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  5. Obviously some individuals, over there in PA have yet to witness a newborn in the throes of substance withdrawal. How in hell did we get to where we are? God help all of us with our perspective.

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  6. and they give them the syringes and needles for this to continue. In state provided ‘safe spaces.’ If they found this to be a crime, the state would then be a perpetrator.

    “…“The fact that the actor, at a later date, becomes a person who meets one of the statutorily-defined categories of ‘perpetrator’ does not bring her earlier actions — even if committed within two years of the child’s bodily injury — under the CPSL,””

    Adopting this reasoning could change legal interpretation on many things.
    If many people conspire to poison someone by giving them a small, cumulative amount of poison over a period of time, they could, by using this new reasoning, claim that they are not guilty of administering the fatal dose. It is a musical chairs version of ‘hot potato’ in our legal system.

    AOC will probably come up with the brilliant idea of cutting illicit opioids with RU486.

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  7. The left has been adamant that a fetus is not a person until it comes out of the womb, intact, and of it’s mother’s “choice”. Any laws that would conflict with this view would logically, eventually negate the unlimited abortion litmus test. Hence we should soon see courts strip all protections of any time from unborn children. If we can’t question a woman’s right to dismember her unborn child and throw it into a garbage pail, how can we possibly question her desire to share a cigarette or crack pipe with that same “choice”?

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