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Loading...Mother Accused of Murder After Breast-Fed Son Dies
A new case out of California takes the issue of maternal responsibility to entirely new heights. Maggie Jean Wortmon, a 26-year-old woman in northern California, is being accused of second-degree murder after her infant son, Michael, was found dead. Wortmon was breastfeeding Michael, and because she was also ingesting methamphetamine, she is being accused of knowingly killing her son, in addition to charges of manslaughter and child abuse. The baby was discovered, after his death, to have meth in his system.
Prosecutors say that she showed “conscious disregard” for her child by choosing to breastfeed, even after she had taken drugs. In other words, she was intentionally harming her baby by ingesting substances that would make her breast milk toxic. The punishment for second-degree murder is up to 15 years in prison. It is, unsurprisingly, much more serious than a manslaughter charge.
The case raises serious questions about how responsible breastfeeding mothers are for the substances they put into their bodies. Given the information available to women about breastfeeding, it’s entirely possible that Wortmon had no idea how her drug consumption could affect her baby. Earlier this week, the CDC chided hospitals for failing to educate women properly about breastfeeding. Although Wortmon was apparently warned by friends and others to use formula if she used meth, it’s likely that she was not aware of the consequences when she did so.
It seems unjust, under these circumstances, to claim that a woman was deliberately poisoning her child by taking drugs and then breastfeeding. The rhetoric used by the prosecutors is reminiscent of the way that public discourse treats pregnant women who have an occasional glass of wine or dare to set foot in a bar. Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are given total responsibility for their child’s wellbeing, but the information and advice they receive is often inadequate, contradictory, or impossible to follow.
According to the New York Times, although meth use is common in rural California, where Wortmon lives, charges like these are extremely rare. It’s possible that Wortmon’s case, if she is found guilty of second-degree murder, could establish a dangerous precedent for breastfeeding mothers in California or the country as a whole. The situation also underscores the need for greater outreach and education about safety during breastfeeding, especially for mothers, like Wortmon, who are vulnerable to drug abuse.
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Photo from sdminor81 via flickr.
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+ add your ownAccidental manslaughter would be more just. I don't see how she thought it was ok to breastfeed her baby when taking meth though. Are people really that ignorant??? To me it's common sense that whatever you ingest, breathe, or put on your body will directly affect your baby during pregnancy and breastfeeding. How does everyone not realize this?! I know that when I plan to have a baby I will go to great lengths to make him or her as healthy as possible, no matter the "sacrifices" I have to make. If you love your child you should be willing to do anything for their well-being. Sadly, people are often too selfish to put the needs of others first, even when it comes to their own children.
i think she should be charged with manslaughter because no one can prove that she took drugs and nursed her baby to try to kill her baby. she mite have not known.
That is sad. If she was ignorant how can she be accused doing it deliberately?
Ignorance or otherwise is no excuse for what this woman did to her baby.
Idiots like this woman don't deserve to have children. Bottom line. If you are a drug addict who can't put down the meth pipe long enough to safely breastfeed your child, how would you be able to do everything else you need to do to nurture and care for the child? What is wrong with everyone?! This woman deserves no sympathy.
My question is; Has anyone who commented on this article ever breastfed a baby or received support from a medical professional? Our country gives very little support to pregnant women who want to breastfeed their babies. After all we must keep the formula companies in business and the drug rehab centers.
I am aghast that the author of this article suggests sympathy for this mother. Simple common sense tells us that whatever we put into our bodies is going to be in our breast milk. If she had any pre-natal care at all she was told not to use drugs, alcohol and to limit caffeine. No Sympathy here. greater question, why didnt her OB ever test her for drug use and why wasnt the baby tested at birth? This child could have been saved. Forty years ago when my first child was born we were given info on breastfeeding and there was/is support groups available.
I think the whole myth of a special parent and child relationship that must never be interfered with by anyone else needs a serious overhaul. Right now, the myth goes that good parenting is innate and does not have to be taught - that there is some special magic that provides parents with instant knowledge of child-rearing and that should allow them extraordinary power over their child. The only parental ability guaranteed by nature is for bodies to be able to mature and reproduce at a certain time in their life. Emotional maturity or wisdom is not simultaneously guaranteed.
Even in "the good old days" parents learned to be good parents from watching how parenting actually works. It was not a natural skill, automatically guaranteed and often takes an advice network to perform successfully.
I think parenting should be taught in school the way any other adult knowledge or skill is taught. But any time such things are mentioned voices are raised in horror that a) parents, particularly mothers might be questioned about what they are doing, and b) that it's anybody else's right to check into that relationship.
I agree with annmari L. I just had a little boy in July, breast feeding takes commitment,no one had to tell me not to drink, or use recreational drugs, because you pass things to your child inadvertently even by ingesting certain pesticides in the food we eat, causing health problems. If you stop while you are pregnant, you should stop if you are breastfeeding or even having a child around! So, in a way, I do feel bad she lost her son, but to do such harsh drugs while breastfeeding is just irresponsible.
All these comments from others trying to make sense with something that is senseless.
This woman was just plain STUPID!!!
Who, in this day and age would not know that whatever in ingested is passed on in breast milk???
She has to be just STUPID!!!
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