Louisiana Woman Arrested for Narcotic “Distribution” to Unborn Child

Authorities arrested and charged a Louisiana woman for taking illegal narcotics that harmed her unborn child reports the Louisiana Gannett News.

The case is particularly interesting to pro-life advocates since justice will depend on whether state courts will recognize the newborn daughter of Rebecca Thompson, 26, as a person before birth, the period when the crime occurred.

Sheriff's deputies charged Thompson on one count each of distribution of cocaine to a person under age 18 and second-degree cruelty to a juvenile. Deputies booked Thompson into the Ouachita Correctional Center after discovering that Thompson's newborn was dangerously underweight and had tested positive for illegal drugs.

Thompson, a mother of four other children, gave birth to a three-pound baby girl July 19 at the Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe. She admitted to using cocaine and marijuana while pregnant after her daughter dropped another dangerous half pound in weight.

Deputies filed the distribution charges against Thompson on the basis that a baby is considered to be a juvenile even before birth.

"Basically, you're still distributing it to a person under 18 even though some states will consider whether the fetus is a person or not," said Capt. David Harris. "We're going to let the courts decide that."

Prosecuting harm to unborn babies in the United States is complicated due to judicial protections of abortion-on-demand and the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which ruled that unborn children were not persons guaranteed equal rights under the 14th Amendment. The addition of unborn victims of violence laws, however, creates an apparent contradiction, forcing the courts to play a game of juggling over when an unborn child can be treated as a person.

Other similar cases include a case from nearby Alabama, where the Court of Civil Appeals ruled in June 2006 that a woman could sue a Birmingham abortion provider for damages over injuries suffered by her unborn child during a failed abortion attempt. However, Hawaii's Supreme Court ruled in December 2005 that Tayshea Aiwohi, 32, was not guilty of manslaughter for smoking crystal methamphetamine on the day of her son's birth, leading to his death two days later.