NASHUA, N.H. (AP) – Prosecutors dropped charges that a woman endangered her unborn baby by using cocaine in a case that revived the debate about whether a fetus counts as a person under state law.

Griseliz Fernandez’s daughter, who is almost 2, was born with traces of cocaine in her blood, prompting prosecutors to charge the mother last year with reckless conduct and endangering the childs life.

She told a police detective soon after delivering her daughter in February 2005 that she had used cocaine on and off throughout the pregnancy, and admitted to using the drug hours before the baby was born, authorities said.

But the Hillsborough County Attorneys office dropped both charges because state law “will not substantiate a good-faith basis for this prosecution,” according to a court briefing.

Instead, Fernandez, 29, pleaded guilty Tuesday to other drug-related charges committed in June while she was out on bail, possessing crack cocaine and operating a vehicle as an habitual offender. She received sentences of two to four years.

It was believed that Fernandez, of Nashua, was the first woman in New Hampshire to face charges for endangering her fetus. If the case had gone to trial, arguments likely would have focused on whether a fetus counts as a person under state law.

“It shouldn’t be a law-enforcement problem,” said Barbara Keshen, attorney for the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union. “Women should feel comfortable talking to their doctors and receiving medical advice. If women fear that talking to their medical providers will have criminal repercussions, it will have a chilling effect on the information they provide,” she said.

Fernandez spent part of her pregnancy in jail, having violated probation by failing to comply with drug treatment following a cocaine conviction in 2004.

Fernandez’s daughter is in good health, and hasn’t shown symptoms of long-lasting damage, Keshen said. All of Fernandezs children are out of her custody.

Prosecutors in at least 20 other states have sought similar charges against women, and in all instances judges threw out the cases, Keshen said. Every judge had ruled that the prosecutors have reached beyond what the law had allowed, she said.

—

Information from: The Telegraph, www.nashuatelegraph.com

AP-ES-12-20-06 0501EST