Court rules that cocaine-addicted newborn was abused

COLUMBUS - A baby born addicted to cocaine because of his mother's drug abuse is an abused child under Ohio law, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled yesterday.

The court ruled 5-2 against Tonya Kimbrough of Canton. Kimbrough is an admitted cocaine user who lost custody of her son Lorenzo Blackshear in July 1998.

Kimbrough, who has given birth to two other cocaine-addicted babies, appealed to the Supreme Court after the 5th Ohio District Court of Appeals upheld the custody decision.

Her lawyer had argued that Ohio's child abuse law refers to abuse done to a child, not a fetus.

The law defines an abused child as a child who suffers "physical or mental injury that harms or threatens to harm the child's health or welfare."

"It is clear that the action causing the injury to Lorenzo was taken by one of his parents," Justice Andrew Douglas wrote for the majority. "It is clear that the action taken by Kimbrough caused Lorenzo injury - both before and after birth."

Justices Deborah Cook and Paul Pfeifer dissented. They disagreed with the evidence linking Kimbrough's drug abuse to an injury.

"Though Lorenzo's physician noted a 'positive drug screen' on the discharge summary, he noted no symptoms of injury that harmed or threatened to harm the child," Cook said.

A lawyer for Stark County argued that the baby met abuse standards because he was born with cocaine in his system.