Charges held for court against mother who overdosed
An East Butler woman who overdosed on heroin while pregnant and had to undergo a cesarean section was ordered held for court on a felony charge of assault on her unborn child.
District Judge Lewis Stoughton made the ruling Tuesday at a preliminary hearing for 30-year-old Kasey R. Dischman, despite ardent legal objections by her attorney.
Public defender Joe Smith argued state law, the Crimes Against the Unborn Child Act, does not apply to his client.
The law's non-liability statute, Smith told Stoughton, provides a blanket exemption for the mother in regard to crimes against her unborn child.
Therefore, there is "no criminal liability against a pregnant woman," he said. "The commonwealth cannot file this charge (against Dischman)."
But prosecutor Laura Pitchford, a county assistant district attorney, claimed the law grants specific criminal protections to fetuses, including the offense of aggravated assault of an unborn child.
She emphasized that for the purpose of Tuesday's hearing, the law charging Dischman "absolutely fits."
Stoughton concurred and ruled the case be bound over for trial.
A full report will appear in tomorrow's Butler Eagle.
