DA at odds with ACLU
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger on Friday pushed back against criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union over his office's decision to charge an East Butler woman with felony assault, after an alleged heroin overdose resulted in what police say will be “lasting injuries” to her then-unborn daughter.
Kasey R. Dischman, 30, was charged after a June 22 incident that police say began when she injected a bag of heroin she found beneath her couch. Police said Dischman then overdosed on the floor of her bathroom. She was found by her live-in boyfriend at about 12:30 a.m. June 23, and rushed to the hospital, where she went into cardiac arrest and had to be placed on a ventilator.
The next day doctors performed an emergency cesarean section and Dischman gave birth to a baby girl, whom police say was in poor health and suffering lasting injuries from the heroin.
Four days later Goldinger's office charged Dischman with aggravated assault of an unborn child under the Crimes Against the Unborn Child Act, a 1997 law that makes it a crime to kill or maim an unborn child. However, critics say that the statute also carves out an exception for pregnant women.
Public defender Joe Smith, who is representing Dischman, objected strenuously on Tuesday to a ruling by District Judge Lewis Stoughton which sent the case to county court. Smith said that the law has specific protections within it that shield pregnant women from being prosecuted for harming their own unborn children.
Smith said that he intends to challenge the decision to prosecute Dischman in county court as soon as possible, and will file a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the legality of the charges.
On Thursday the ACLU's Pittsburgh office took up the issue, saying that Goldinger's office was abusing its authority by using the 1997 statute to charge Dischman.
Goldinger on Friday declined to respond directly to the ACLU's remarks about the case, but said he doesn't believe the intent of lawmakers was to shield a defendant like Dischman from prosecution.
“I'm aware of the statute that they're referring to,” Goldinger said. “I don't believe that it was the Legislature's intent that a woman could be seven months pregnant, ingest so much heroin that she overdoses and jeopardizes her baby, and nothing can be done for it.”
Smith said he believes Goldinger's interpretation of lawmakers' intent is “absolutely contrary to the plain language of the law,” and could have a chilling effect on some women's willingness to seek medical help for issues that negatively affect their unborn children.
“Where does the line end? Do you really want the state police or the government making determinations regarding pregnant women's conduct?” Smith said. “What happens if you're 17 and smoking? Or pregnant and not wearing your seat belt? It's a very, very dangerous area to go with criminal prosecutions.”
Goldinger said his office was “exploring the law further to see if we can continue prosecution” — a determination he expects will be made within a couple weeks.
Goldinger said that decision likely will determine whether Dischman faces charges in connection with the overdose.
“I'm not sure there's anything else we could charge her with,” he said.
