The fact that a baby is born suffering from methadone withdrawal, as a result of his mother’s taking medicinal methadone one month before the birth, does not alone constitute abuse and neglect. So held Justice Barry Albin, in a unanimous decision on Dec. 22, 2014, in N.J. Div. of Child Protection and Permanency v. Y.N.
In September 2010, the defendant, during medical treatment for a hand injury, learned for the first time that she was four months pregnant. When she informed the medical personnel that she was taking prescription Percocet for injuries sustained in a car accident several months before, she was told that “if she suddenly stopped taking the Percocet, she might suffer withdrawal symptoms and lose her unborn baby. She was told to secure prenatal care immediately.” Although she was later told to stop the Percocet through a methadone treatment program, she waited four months before enrolling in such a program. One month later, Paul was born diagnosed with “neonatal abstinence syndrome as a result of his withdrawal symptoms from methadone.”
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