ARGUMENTS HEARD IN CASE OF METH USE AND BABY

A woman charged with child abuse and neglect for exposing her unborn
baby to methamphetamine appeared in Burleigh County District Court on
Monday for a preliminary hearing.

Orlonda Hopkins, 19, of Mandan, is accused of smoking meth from the
time she was seven months pregnant to June 16, when her son was born.

Bismarck Police Detective Mark Gaddis testified that doctors at
Medcenter One noticed the baby was acting strangely. He would not
wake up to be fed. His behavior prompted doctors to test him for
various drugs, and the tests came back positive for meth.

Gaddis said that Hopkins, during questioning, admitted to smoking
meth up to 10 times during the final two months of her pregnancy. He
said she may have done meth the day before the child was born. The
child is still in the custody of Burleigh CountySocial Services.

Gaddis said the baby boy was no longer exhibiting symptoms of meth
exposure by June 20. Hopkins' attorney, Wayne Goter, said the baby
had no injuries, so the child abuse charge should be thrown out. He
also said the unborn baby was not legally an actual child at the time
of the abuse and brought up abortion in his argument.

"Until there's a day that we recognize the unborn as a person, and
abortion is illegal, this case doesn't belong in court, for a number
of reasons," Goter said.

Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Lloyd Suhr said that since
the child tested positive after he was born, Hopkins' meth use
constitutes abuse.

"If the child hadn't tested positive after birth, this case wouldn't
be before you," Suhr said.

Goter submitted a memorandum of law citing why he thinks the case
should be thrown out. Burleigh County District Judge Thomas Schneider
allowed the state a week to submit a written response to the
memorandum, at which time Schneider will rule whether the case will
go to trial.

Hopkins is being held in the Burleigh County Detention Center without bond.

She is currently serving a one-year sentence for a probation violation.