A LaVerkin woman has pleaded no contest to child-abuse homicide in the stillbirth of her child, whose autopsy showed it died of a drug overdose.
Dayna Louise Pittman, 38, is the first mother in Utah who will be punished for the death of her own fetus. Hers is one of a handful of fetal-abuse cases that have generated debate in Utah on whether prosecuting mothers deters prenatal drug use or discourages pregnant substance abusers from seeking help.Washington County used Utah's child-abuse statutes to charge Pittman with a second-degree felony homicide count stemming from her prenatal use of methamphetamine.
"We didn't reduce the charges or anything of that nature," Deputy County Attorney Brent Langston said. "We felt that the charges were very solid."
Pittman's no-contest plea Wednesday will be treated the same as a guilty plea by the 5th District Court. Judge James Shu-mate could impose a one-to-15-year prison term.
After Pittman gave birth to the stillborn infant Jan. 17 at Dixie Regional Medical Center, an autopsy concluded that a drug overdose was the cause of death.
Critics of fetal-abuse prosecutions fear the Pittman case will scare expectant mothers away from prenatal care.
"The message addicts are getting is, stay away from your doctor; stay away from treatment," said Lynn Martinez, who runs a pregnancy risk hotline in Salt Lake City.
Pittman's court-appointed lawyer, Douglas Terry, did not return phone messages.
In the early 1990s, several states tried to prosecute women for abusing drugs while pregnant, but these cases usually ended with dismissals or overturned on appeal.
Pittman is only the third alleged substance-abusing Utah mom charged with child abuse, although hers is the first prosecution involving a death.
Kim Hoskins, West Valley City, was sentenced to up to five years for exposing her fetus to the harmful effects of substance abuse. The sentence was concurrent with a sentence for drug use and possession.
A Tooele woman, Julie Garner, is awaiting a preliminary hearing on child-abuse charges after giving birth to a 2-pound baby last year.