Regarding the one about the woman being charged with manslaughter for miscarriage.
What they're leaving out was that the woman was using methamphetamine without a prescription.
Some people have been saying that she was trying to abort the pregnancy. Granted, while crystal meth can be cheaper than an abortion, I did some research into the matter.
Thing is, abortion is still very much legal in Oklahoma. It's just that access is a bit of an issue due to the restrictive regulations put into place by the state government. But let's run through the whole matter and see how difficult it would have been in her case.
She lives in Cherokee County.
The nearest town with a women's clinic is in Muskogee - a 40 minute drive from the seat of the County. They do not provide abortions, but she could have received a referral to a clinic that does offer abortion services in Tulsa.
There is a Greyhound route that runs between Muskogee and Tulsa. It'd run you about $50 for a round-trip ticket.
One mile from the women's clinic in Tulsa is an inexpensive motel that offers singles for about $40/night.
As for the abortion services? The clinic offers fully inclusive packages that include follow ups. They cost $625 each. One package is the abortion drug. The other is the surgical procedure.
Also, they offer payment plans as well as access to financial aid programs.
While it would have been an inconvenience, for the amount of money she spent on crystal meth? She probably could have had this done all nice and tidy, legally speaking.
That is, if she was actually trying to abort the pregnancy and wasn't actually a meth addict. But from the tone of the article, it doesn't really seem that way.
(Others have been trying to claim that it was a urinary tract infection that caused the miscarriage... which is possible. However, they're completely disregarding the fact that UTIs are a common side effect of methamphetamine abuse. It's like saying that someone died of "just pneumonia" and completely leave out the fact that they had AIDs.)
As for the manslaughter charge, I did a bit of research on that as well. Oklahoma state law protects women from prosecution if they do something that causes their own miscarriage...
...However, that protection ends when the act that causes the miscarriage is illegal in and of itself. Like possessing a Schedule II Controlled Substance without a prescription or supervision of a properly trained and licensed medical professional.
Granted, actually using drugs is a lot more ambiguous under Oklahoma law. But charges there mostly pertain to the outcome - such as driving under the influence, for example.
Lastly, by my reckoning, they're being gentle with her.
How?
Well, she has meth in her system. That's more than enough probable cause for the prosecutor to get search warrants for wherever she lives and any vehicles she drives. And they would likely have found something. Oklahoma is one of the toughest states in the USA on drugs, and even trace amounts will get you a possession charge.
Penalties for possession of methamphetamine without a prescription? 4 to 20 years in prison, and a $10,000 fine.
Also, that would have been a SECOND felony charge in addition to the manslaughter charge. Not only is Oklahoma a Three Strikes state, they also make no distinction of "degrees" of felonies and misdemeanors. Over there, a felony is a felony, period.
They could have utterly ruined her life with incredible ease. Instead, they went for just four years in prison for manslaughter (which, BTW, does not have a fine as part of the penalty in Oklahoma).
With all of this taken into consideration? Near as I can figure, she's more likely than not dealing with a drug addiction and they want her to have a shot at rehabilitation.
And that would be why the major media outlets haven't been running the story. Kinda wish they had if only for the sake of rumor control.
What they're leaving out was that the woman was using methamphetamine without a prescription.
Some people have been saying that she was trying to abort the pregnancy. Granted, while crystal meth can be cheaper than an abortion, I did some research into the matter.
Thing is, abortion is still very much legal in Oklahoma. It's just that access is a bit of an issue due to the restrictive regulations put into place by the state government. But let's run through the whole matter and see how difficult it would have been in her case.
She lives in Cherokee County.
The nearest town with a women's clinic is in Muskogee - a 40 minute drive from the seat of the County. They do not provide abortions, but she could have received a referral to a clinic that does offer abortion services in Tulsa.
There is a Greyhound route that runs between Muskogee and Tulsa. It'd run you about $50 for a round-trip ticket.
One mile from the women's clinic in Tulsa is an inexpensive motel that offers singles for about $40/night.
As for the abortion services? The clinic offers fully inclusive packages that include follow ups. They cost $625 each. One package is the abortion drug. The other is the surgical procedure.
Also, they offer payment plans as well as access to financial aid programs.
While it would have been an inconvenience, for the amount of money she spent on crystal meth? She probably could have had this done all nice and tidy, legally speaking.
That is, if she was actually trying to abort the pregnancy and wasn't actually a meth addict. But from the tone of the article, it doesn't really seem that way.
(Others have been trying to claim that it was a urinary tract infection that caused the miscarriage... which is possible. However, they're completely disregarding the fact that UTIs are a common side effect of methamphetamine abuse. It's like saying that someone died of "just pneumonia" and completely leave out the fact that they had AIDs.)
As for the manslaughter charge, I did a bit of research on that as well. Oklahoma state law protects women from prosecution if they do something that causes their own miscarriage...
...However, that protection ends when the act that causes the miscarriage is illegal in and of itself. Like possessing a Schedule II Controlled Substance without a prescription or supervision of a properly trained and licensed medical professional.
Granted, actually using drugs is a lot more ambiguous under Oklahoma law. But charges there mostly pertain to the outcome - such as driving under the influence, for example.
Lastly, by my reckoning, they're being gentle with her.
How?
Well, she has meth in her system. That's more than enough probable cause for the prosecutor to get search warrants for wherever she lives and any vehicles she drives. And they would likely have found something. Oklahoma is one of the toughest states in the USA on drugs, and even trace amounts will get you a possession charge.
Penalties for possession of methamphetamine without a prescription? 4 to 20 years in prison, and a $10,000 fine.
Also, that would have been a SECOND felony charge in addition to the manslaughter charge. Not only is Oklahoma a Three Strikes state, they also make no distinction of "degrees" of felonies and misdemeanors. Over there, a felony is a felony, period.
They could have utterly ruined her life with incredible ease. Instead, they went for just four years in prison for manslaughter (which, BTW, does not have a fine as part of the penalty in Oklahoma).
With all of this taken into consideration? Near as I can figure, she's more likely than not dealing with a drug addiction and they want her to have a shot at rehabilitation.
And that would be why the major media outlets haven't been running the story. Kinda wish they had if only for the sake of rumor control.