I was trying to compromise, I'll give you 2nd trimester on, hell I'd be willing to give more time into the first trimester. No one likes abortion, but there must be some middle ground and that middle ground could be when there is a fetus the size of a Lima bean, rape, and woman's life in danger. I mean for real, I'd bet a lot of women would consent to that if this issue would just fucking die. But back to the prego girl, treat serious drug addiction like it should be treated as a mental disorder, because that's what it is. I would fine with this mother losing her child and being sent to a serious rehab facility, for at least a year, then a halfway house for another year, then let her legally attempt to regain custody if she wants but only if deemed ok by a judge.
So the popular opinion here is the sentence is excessive. So I looked... In Tennessee, they have a special section for Meth added onto what would already be considered aggravated child endangerment. The fact that it was meth is what sent the time received over the edge. One cannot argue that Tennessee got themselves a meth issue, bigger that most. So Tennessee being aggressive on meth sentencing guidelines only adds to the punishment a mother would receive under these circumstances. After looking at a few other states, Tennessee is unique to punishment for it's meth laws. Set up a beginners lab alone and you are doing a dozen. Could be assumed that perhaps mommy dearest might of had something to do with a lab. Even without, she used and she used more than once. It could be considered that counts on her actions multiply with each use. In this case, we don't know. I look at it this way; I'm a meth ho in Tennessee knowing that the state I live in don't play when it comes to meth, but okay, I'm gonna use meth. Now...I am a pregnant meth ho and I willingly choose to inflict the damages onto my unborn, over and over and over. I don't buy the mental disorder defense whereas princess was once in clear judgement to first try meth. Knowing the damage before you commit is no defense for mental disorder therefore that is no excuse for contaminating your unborn...and then doing it again and again. Excessive, sure, maybe a little but due only to the fact that Tennessee's meth laws are higher than most. Knowing that before you light up is no excuse though and IMO, you are gonna do time, even in California where this class A felony will get you 6. I totally agree with rehab methods and the gauntlet of programs necessary to make you a contributing citizen however, shouldn't we place the value of a child before the mindset of an addict mother? Dunno, but when a pregnant woman visits the doctor prior to birth in a state where meth has a major stronghold, perhaps screening for all expecting mothers would be a bit more proactive in preventing this to occur in the first place. Rolling on assumptions here, but just saying.
I don't know how this got to be about abortion anyway. For all we know the woman got pregnant on purpose and actually wanted a baby. You didn't put a link so there is no information about her. We don't even know her name. Look at the news. Every day bad things happen to people I don't know and people I don't know do bad things. Its hard to actually feel anything unless something is so outrageously horrible that you can't help it. 300 people killed in plane crash. Family of 6 murdered for no reason in Houston. Six murders in seven days in Baton Rouge. So I really don't care what happens to some meth ho in Tennessee. But I do have a soft spot for children and animals. Of all the murder, mayhem and tragedy in yesterday's news the only stories that made me feel anything at all was 1. A man on trial in Baton Rouge for beating his 8 year old son to death. From witnesses testimony he had be beating the kid his whole life. A sad end to a horrible life. Its to bad the asshole won't get the death penalty. 2. A man in some place I forget where sentenced to 10 years hard labor. His offense: He tied his dog's front legs to the bumper of his pickup truck so that the dog's hind legs were touching the ground. Then he sped off. The dog somehow survived and was adopted by some good people. Oh, and one other: A 40 year old man got drunk when he was 19 and got in a wreck that killed somebody.l He was convicted and sentenced to prison for two years. He went home and waited to be called to serve his time but through some clerical error he never received an order to report to prison. He got on with his life, graduated from college, got a good job and started raising a family. He led a productive life and never got in any trouble again. After 20 years the mistake was discovered and he was ordered to serve the time. One judge granted his appeal to remain free but the state appealed and it was overturned. Now he has to do the time. If he had gone to prison when he was first convicted it would have been justice. But now after all this time its a travesty of justice.
This is such a scary gray area, though. Some people are simply not fit to be parents, maybe ever. Were you in Dallas when that bitch in Wilmer-Hutchins was keeping her 10-year-old daughter chained up in a closet (this was around 2001 and I remember because I was pregnant at the time with my 1st child). By the time authorities found her, she weighed 35 pounds or something and could barely speak. Her history was that "mom" lost custody of the child when she was an infant (drug abuser.) A couple fostered the little girl and petitioned for adoption, which was almost approved, then when the baby was almost two, a judge deemed "mom" fit enough to finally "try" being a parent. The bitch was unfit, obviously, and that was clear to see from day one. But, hey, biology trumps nurturing, apparently. The end result of the Wilmer-Hutchins story is that the foster parents adopted the broken little girl after her mother ruined the child's life. I feel like if there is a loving foster family wanting to adopt a child of a drug addict, then the mother has forfeited her rights by being a crack ho. End of story. A gay couple I know in Plano fosters kids. They are currently trying to adopt the biological sister of a boy they were finally allowed to adopt several years ago. Mom AND Dad are meth heads. But they make pretty kids--even though they give them weird names (Craven and Zayda). But Phillip and D'Wayne can give a loving, stable home to the kids. Craven is legally theirs, and hopefully, Zayda will be soon--so they can get on with being raised and never have to see the idiots who are their biological parents. However, the state is constantly trying to find a blood relation that will take in the kids (though no longer with Craven, since the adoption is final.) Two years ago, they found a distant cousin in Oklahoma whom they talked into taking Craven. It damn-near broke Phillip's heart the day they were turning him over. After less than a month, the cousin decided she didn't want anything to do with raising this stranger and gave him back to Phillip and D'Wayne. So...this kid in Tennessee needs to be adopted by people who can raise her and love her. I doubt her mom is likely to rehabilitate to be able to do that effectively. Don't keep the baby in limbo, trying to see whether an adult will ever get her shit together enough to be a mother.
