DRUG-ADDICTED MOTHER CHARGED IN STILLBIRTH

A drug-addicted mother whose son was stillborn after being exposed to
twice the lethal dose of methamphetamine was charged with murder
Wednesday in Oklahoma County district court.

It was the first time in state history -- and possibly the first time
ever -- a murder charge was filed in such a case, officials said.

Theresa Lee Hernandez, 27, of Oklahoma City has been in the Oklahoma
County jail since Aug. 31, when she was arrested on a felony warrant
for failing to appear for arraignment in a shoplifting case. The
murder charge was added Wednesday morning.

She previously was convicted in December on three charges of drug
possession in the presence of a minor.

Hernandez, who has five other children under the age of 10, was 32
weeks pregnant when her son was stillborn April 17, said Oklahoma
County District Attorney Wes Lane. Her other children have been wards
of the court since 2000, and she lost all parental rights in May.

"Hernandez repeatedly abused methamphetamine to the point at which at
birth her baby boy had twice the amount of methamphetamine needed to
kill an adult," Lane said. "The reason it had not killed Hernandez was
because she had abused it for so long that she had built up a
tolerance of it."

Lane said child welfare services tried to help Hernandez conquer her
addiction problems over the past four years, but it didn't work.

Death ruled a homicide, DA says When the boy was born dead, the state
medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, Lane said. Oklahoma City
police began an investigation, and Lane agreed to press charges.

"I will not tolerate any parent murdering their child so they can get
their next drug fix," Lane said.

The length of time Hernandez was pregnant is critical to Lane's
case.

The law considers a pregnancy viable at 24 weeks, Lane said. Hernandez
gave birth at 32 weeks, opening the door to the murder charge.

Deborah L. Shropshire, a physician at Children's Hospital at OU
Medical Center, said 10 percent to 15 percent of all babies born at
the hospital test positive for drugs. She said there was no way to
tell how many miscarriages were caused by drugs.

Meth exposure in expectant mothers, she said, can cause damage to the
placenta, depriving fetuses of nutrients and oxygen.