No Caesarean leads to murder charge.
Find a Conversation
| Fri, 03-12-2004 - 8:18am |
Homicide? Poor judgement?
>"A pregnant woman who allegedly ignored medical warnings to have a Caesarean section to save her twins was charged Thursday with murder after one of the babies was stillborn.
Prosecutors said Melissa Ann Rowland, 28, didn't want the scars that accompany the surgery.
An autopsy found the baby died two days before its January 13 delivery and that it would have survived if Rowland had had a C-section when her doctors urged her to, between Christmas and January 9. The other baby is alive, but authorities had no further information.
The doctors had warned that without a C-section, the twins would probably die, authorities said. A nurse told police Rowland said a Caesarean would "ruin her life" and she would rather "lose one of the babies than be cut like that." "<
>>>>>>>>
>"The charges carry five years to life in prison. Rowland was jailed on $250,000 bail.
According to the documents, Rowland went to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City in December to seek advice after she hadn't felt her babies move. A nurse, Regina Davis, told police she instructed Rowland to go immediately to one of two other hospitals, but that Rowland said she would rather have both babies die before going to either place.
On January 2, a doctor at LDS Hospital examined Rowland and recommended an immediate C-section based on an ultrasound and the babies' slowing heart rates. Rowland left, the doctor told police.
The same day, Rowland allegedly saw a nurse at another hospital, saying she had left LDS Hospital because the doctor wanted to cut her "from breast bone to pubic bone."
A week later, Rowland allegedly went to a third hospital to verify whether her babies were alive. A nurse there told police she could not detect a heartbeat from one twin and advised Rowland to remain in the hospital, but Rowland allegedly ignored the advice.
In January, the state Supreme Court ruled that unborn children at all stages of development are covered under the state's criminal homicide statute. The law exempts the death of a fetus during an abortion.
The law has been used to prosecute women who kill or seriously harm their babies through drug use; it has never been used because a woman failed to follow her doctor's advice, said Marguerite Driessen, a law professor at Brigham Young University.
"It's very troubling to have somebody come in and say we're going to charge this mother for murder because we don't like the choices she made," Driessen said. "<
Complete article see link......................
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/03/11/mother.charged.ap/index.html


Pages
That is simply disgraceful, whether or not she has a potentially life-threatening surgery is completely up to the choice of the mother.
James
janderson_ny@yahoo.com
CL Ask A Guy
James
janderson_ny@yahoo.com
CL Ask A Guy
I do wonder why she wasn't told that the surgical incision could be made horizontally below the bikini line? Perhaps her choice would have been different then, or maybe not - but it should still be her choice.
C
I think that the woman is going through enough pain by losing one of her children without the fear of having to face prosecution on top of that.
I dont agree with charging her with murder or manslaught. If you can charge someone for not heeding a doctors advise then okay, and let the punishment be the result of her pregnancy....what a waste of time and money.
I do wonder why she wasn't told that the surgical incision could be made horizontally below the bikini line?
In reading the article, I wondered the same thing.
>"Rowland denied claims she avoided surgery because she feared scarring.
``It was all medical concern. None of it was vanity,'' Rowland said. Her other two young children, ages 7 and 9, both were delivered by C-section, she said.
Her attorney, meanwhile, said she had a long history of mental illness. Rowland said she had attempted suicide twice and spent time in a psychiatric hospital.
Rowland, 28, who has been jailed since mid-January on a child endangerment charge involving the surviving twin, said she was informed of the murder charge Thursday evening by reporters.
Critics of the charges say the case could affect abortion rights and open the door to the prosecution of mothers who smoke, fail to follow their obstetrician's diet advice or take some other action that endangers a fetus.
``I see this as part of an overall focus of a certain movement on fetal rights and an effort to elevate fetal rights above the rights of a woman,'' said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women and a former prosecutor."<
>"Rowland was charged with criminal homicide. She said the child endangerment charge stems from allegations that the surviving baby girl had drugs and alcohol in her system, which Rowland denies.
The baby has been adopted by a family Rowland knows. Her other children live with her estranged husband's parents.
Rowland's attorney, Michael Sikora, called a C-section major surgery and told The Salt Lake Tribune ``it would come as no surprise that a woman with major mental illness would fear it.'' "<
>"She said she was never concerned about her babies' health because in all her hospital visits, she was told the babies had good heartbeats and were fine.
Caesarean sections usually involve delivery through a surgical incision in the abdomen and front wall of the uterus. They are generally not vertical and can be done in the bikini incision, according to Dr. Christian Morgan, a family practice doctor who regularly performs C-sections at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center. "<
Quotes from...........
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Mother-Charged.html
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Mother%20Charged
Wednesday, March 17, 2004 · Last updated 1:27 a.m. PT
Prosecutors: Drug use a factor for mother
By ALEXANDRIA SAGE
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
SALT LAKE CITY -- Prosecutors pursuing murder charges against a woman whose unborn twin was stillborn after she refused a Caesarean section said her alleged drug use during pregnancy would be a factor in the case.
On Tuesday, authorities dropped a child endangerment charge related to the surviving baby, who prosecutors say was born with drugs in her system.
Deputy District Attorney Kent Morgan said the dismissal would make it easier to prosecute Melissa Ann Rowland for death of the stillborn twin.
Pregnant drug users are not "showing the type of care and responsibility that we expect of mothers in the United States," he added.
Rowland, jailed since shortly after the Jan. 13 deliveries, pleaded not guilty to criminal homicide Monday. Her attorney, Michael Sikora, has declined to comment.
Prosecutors claim Rowland, 28, refused medical advice to undergo a C-section, and as a result one of her twins was stillborn. They said she did not want a scar from the surgery.
Rowland has denied using drugs while pregnant and said she was never told she required emergency surgery. She consented to the C-section the day the twins were delivered and said she had previous deliveries by C-section.
According to court records, Rowland's boyfriend, the father of the twins, told investigators he and Rowland smoked marijuana three weeks before the birth. The records show Rowland told police the marijuana cigarette must have been laced with cocaine.
Morgan said an investigation was ongoing into allegations Rowland tried to sell her baby for bail money.
Rowland has a previous child endangerment conviction from a 2000 incident in which she punched a daughter in the face for eating a candy bar in a supermarket without paying for it.
Some critics have suggested the murder charge is an intrusion on Rowland's privacy. Morgan rejected that notion.
"This is not an abortion case. This is a full-term birth that resulted in a stillborn," he said.
cl-nwtreehugger
Community Leader: In The News http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/listsf.asp?webtag=iv-elinthenews&nav=start
Community Leader: Sports Talk http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/listsf.asp?webtag=iv-elsportstalk&nav=start
Welcome to the "In the News" board! Wow twins what a joy! You must have your hands full.
There was more to this story....... evidently she'd already had children by C-section. She was mentally ill & had tried to commit suicide twice, plus she was on illegal drugs.
Any normal mother-to-be wouldn't have hesitated having a C-section to save their babies. IMO.
Thanks for posting.
It sounds to me like this woman should not have any more babies and she was endangering her children in other ways.
However, I can see that if she is convicted, this could set a precedent endangering the rights of any mother who refuses to follow medical advise for her own reasons, and consequently harms the child in some way.
For instance, what if an ob ordered an invasive test and the mother opted not to have it and then finds out that if she HAD had the test and it could have made a vital difference in the childs health in some way, should she be charged with child neglect...etc?
Nichole,
Proud homebirth mommy-Ayla, 2 and Mason, 4 months
Pages