Groups rallying around Dischman
Several national and state organizations have come together behind a Butler County woman charged with overdosing while seven months pregnant.
In an open letter, sent to the Butler County District Attorney's Office, several organizations are calling for the “dangerous and counter-productive prosecution” against Kasey R. Dischman, 30, to be dropped.
Dischman was charged with felony aggravated assault of an unborn child following her alleged June 23 overdose, which resulted in her baby being prematurely delivered.
Organizations undersigned in the letter include the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, Delaware County Women's Center, Every Mother is a Working Mother Network, Maternity Care Coalition, National Association of Perinatal Social Workers, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Inc., National Perinatal Association, New Voices for Reproductive Justice, the Philadelphia Women's Center and several medical doctors, legal experts and university professors.
The letter states that drug addiction is a medical affliction best addressed through medical treatment, not criminal prosecution.
A full report appears in the Wednesday Butler Eagle.
