S.C. HIGH COURT PETITIONED IN FETAL ABUSE CASE

COLUMBIA - When the S.C. Supreme Court decides if a Conway woman should
serve out her 12-year prison sentence, it also could determine if the state
should continue to prosecute pregnant women who use drugs.

Attorneys for Regina Denise McKnight petitioned the court Wednesday to
reverse her May 2001 conviction for homicide by child abuse. The
25-year-old was convicted of killing her baby girl by using cocaine during
her pregnancy.

In 1997, justices ruled a viable fetus should be protected under child
abuse laws, making South Carolina the only state to recognize a fetus as a
person.

It is unclear when the court will issue a ruling, but if they reverse
McKnight's conviction, they ultimately could overturn their decision on
whether a woman can be prosecuted for her actions while pregnant.

Jodie Kelley, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing McKnight, told
justices there was no evidence that McKnight's crack cocaine use caused the
baby's death.

Kelley acknowledged the baby had a byproduct of cocaine in her blood, but
said prosecutors never showed that caused the girl's death, she said.

One of McKnight's other illnesses, such as hyperthyroidism and syphilis,
could have caused the stillbirth, she said.

McKnight, a homeless drug addict, never intended to kill the baby and
thought she would be born alive and well, Kelley said.

"Cocaine can be harmful ... but that's not enough. It doesn't show extreme
indifference for life, and there are a lot of things that can be harmful,"
Kelley said. "We're certainly not argu-ing cocaine is a good thing to do,
but there's no evidence that it caused the death."

To convict someone of homicide, evidence must show they had "extreme
indifference for life," said Charles Richardson, a state deputy attorney
general.

"It is common knowledge that use of cocaine while pregnant could harm a
child," Richardson said.

McKnight could have been charged with criminal abortion, which has a
maximum sentence of two years in prison. The homicide charge allowed up to
life in prison.

Chief Justice Jean Toal questioned Richardson on whether McKnight's
sentence was cruel and unusual punishment.

"I am troubled by the disparity of the penalty that's imposed with criminal
abortion and the penalty imposed with homicide by child abuse," Toal said.

Kelley told Toal that prosecution under either law was wrong because
McKnight's cocaine addiction is similar to a woman who can't stop smoking
cigarettes while pregnant. Even though they continue their habits while
pregnant, Kelley said, neither intentionally wants to hurt their unborn babies.

Mark Rapoport, a senior assistant for the state attorney general's office,
said McKnight didn't intentionally take crack cocaine to abort the baby.

One [charge] involves intent and the other extreme indifference to life.
There's no comparison between the two," Rapoport said. "I think she should
have gotten life personally."