Pubdate: Tue, 24 May 2005
Source: Journal Times, The (Racine, WI)
Copyright: 2005 The Journal Times
Contact:  http://www.journaltimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1659
Author: David Steinkraus
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)

JUDGE FREES ADDICT MOM

RACINE - It's been almost a month since Rachael Lowe was detained to 
protect her fetus from her OxyContin addiction, and on Monday morning a 
judge said she could go free - with some conditions.

Lowe, 20, had been held in St. Luke's Hospital since late April. When she 
and her husband walked into Waukesha Memorial Hospital on April 24 and 
asked for help with her problem, she was confined under the state's 
"cocaine mom" law.

On Monday morning, Racine County Judge Charles Constantine released Lowe to 
live with her husband. He required her to live in a drug-free home, to 
continue taking the methadone given as part of an addiction treatment 
program, to provide regular urine samples that will be tested for drugs, 
and to cooperate with her doctors. If she slips, Constantine said, she 
could be held in contempt of court and would probably be placed in some 
kind of restrictive setting.

After hearing medical testimony, Constantine said it seems 
counter-intuitive that the risk to the fetus now comes not from addiction 
but from drug withdrawal.

Medical testimony That was one of the points made by Dr. Kathy D. Hartke, 
an obstetrician/gynecologist affiliated with Waukesha Memorial Hospital. On 
the witness stand, Hartke said she had queried a number of other physicians 
about Lowe's case.

The child is anatomically normal and is of an appropriate size for the 33rd 
week of pregnancy, she said. Certainly Lowe needs drug counseling, she 
said, but experts in addiction say such women need to be out in the 
community. "They have to be given some opportunity to learn how to live in 
society without using these drugs.

"And Rachael came willingly to get help. She is the perfect candidate to 
get help," Hartke said.

"This is something that's going to take a long time. She does not need 
24-hour supervision."

That had been a question in previous hearings, particularly after a urine 
sample from Lowe's husband, Michael, showed slight traces of marijuana.

The child is due on July 6. There's no sign of preterm labor, and hopefully 
the pregnancy will go smoothly until full term at 37 weeks, Hartke said.

"All the consultants that I spoke to feel there is no significant risk to 
the fetus." The OxyContin dose Lowe took was so small as to pose little 
risk, Hartke said. The real risk now is withdrawal of the fetus from the 
drugs, to which it, too, will have become addicted by exposure in the womb, 
Hartke said.

Also, Lowe is on more medications now than when she originally sought help, 
Hartke testified, including some for nasal congestion, a sleeping pill, and 
Xanax, an antianxiety drug in the same class as benzodiazapam, one of the 
drugs in her system when she sought help at Waukesha Memorial Hospital. 
Lowe and the fetus could become addicted to that also if she takes it long 
enough, Hartke said.

What if she relapses and begins using again all three drugs found in her 
system in Waukesha - OxyContin, benzodiazapam, and marijuana, asked 
Assistant District Attorney Maureen Martinez.

"There is not going to be a harm to the fetus from my medical 
understanding," Hartke said. Based on studies of women using drugs, doctors 
don't think there is neurological damage, she said.

Assessing trust When Constantine asked lawyers for their recommendations, 
they all said or suggested that she be released.

"As I indicated last time, we are dealing with two very young people, some 
bad judgments," said Keith Miller, Rachael Lowe's attorney. Michael has 
rented an apartment in West Allis and arranged a leave of absence from his 
job so he can look after his wife, Miller said.

"At this time there's really no basis to be detaining Rachael."

No one wants to see her remain in a locked facility, Martinez said. Her 
husband's positive marijuana test is a lingering question, and she still 
could move in with an aunt and uncle in Jefferson County, Martinez said.

"I don't like the idea of Rachael and the fetus being in the hospital 
unless it's absolutely necessary," said attorney Mark Lukoff, appointed as 
guardian to represent the fetus. He said he almost reluctantly recommended 
her release. Given Hartke's testimony, he said, he doubted that substantial 
risk to the fetus could be proven.

In the lobby of the courthouse, as Rachael was being escorted back to the 
hospital for discharge, Hartke held both Lowe's shoulders and said she had 
to comply with the court. Yes, Rachael said, nodding, she understood.

"They're going to live like a normal family - husband and wife and child," 
Hartke said.

"The way it should be," Michael Lowe added.
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