Almost no matter what she did, she should be able to use involuntary intoxication as a defense. Someone who’s high on morphine and doesn’t understand what’s happening cannot form the necessary intent to commit murder.
Absolutely. Had a young woman knowingly taken drugs while pregnant, they could be charged with a variety of things including child abuse. The doctor suspected she was pregnant which is why he gave her a pregnancy test. Suspecting that, why would he at the same time proscribe morphine before the results were in? That aside, while the hospital staff was unaware that the patient was pregnant when they started the IV, for those 48 minutes they knew or should have known that they were giving morphine to that unborn child. They should have immediately stopped the IV when the pregnancy test result came in.
Neonatal respiratory depression is possible when morphine is used in labor
which fits perfectly with the facts of this case. I think it was a surprise to everyone involved that she was in labor, but it probably shouldn’t have been to medical professionals who thought about her symptoms combined with the discovery that she was pregnant.
Especially since morphine can have wildly different effects on people, some folks just end up a bit mentally cloudy with minimum imparment while others go full on loopy and think the doctors want their bodily fluids to summon the flying spaghetti monster. Regardless morphine fucks you up.
Almost no matter what she did, she should be able to use involuntary intoxication as a defense. Someone who’s high on morphine and doesn’t understand what’s happening cannot form the necessary intent to commit murder.
The part about continuing morphine for 48 minutes after figuring out she was pregnant ought to be damning evidence against someone, but not her
Absolutely. Had a young woman knowingly taken drugs while pregnant, they could be charged with a variety of things including child abuse. The doctor suspected she was pregnant which is why he gave her a pregnancy test. Suspecting that, why would he at the same time proscribe morphine before the results were in? That aside, while the hospital staff was unaware that the patient was pregnant when they started the IV, for those 48 minutes they knew or should have known that they were giving morphine to that unborn child. They should have immediately stopped the IV when the pregnancy test result came in.
I think you meant prescribe instead of proscribe (one means “recommend” the other means “forbid”)
Morphine is not contraindicated during pregnancy, however one of the risks listed is
which fits perfectly with the facts of this case. I think it was a surprise to everyone involved that she was in labor, but it probably shouldn’t have been to medical professionals who thought about her symptoms combined with the discovery that she was pregnant.
Especially since morphine can have wildly different effects on people, some folks just end up a bit mentally cloudy with minimum imparment while others go full on loopy and think the doctors want their bodily fluids to summon the flying spaghetti monster. Regardless morphine fucks you up.