Police: Pregnant woman overdoses, charged with baby assault


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EAST BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania woman who overdosed on heroin while pregnant and had to undergo a cesarean section is being charged with assault on her unborn child, authorities said.

Kasey Dischman, 30, was roughly seven months pregnant when she injected herself with heroin she found under a couch early last Friday in her home in East Butler, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Pittsburgh, a criminal complaint obtained by KDKA-TV shows.

Police found her unresponsive and ambulance workers said she had a closed head injury and was vomiting on her living room floor, records show. Dischman was taken to a nearby hospital and a day later her baby girl was delivered by C-section and placed on life support.

She later told officers it was the first time she had used heroin since being released from jail on retail theft charges about a week earlier. Her body also tested positive for alcohol, according to the criminal complaint.

Police told the Butler Eagle newspaper that Dischman's actions show how powerful opioid addiction is.

"It's so severe, it doesn't stop a mother 30-plus weeks pregnant from overdosing," Lt. Eric Hermick told the newspaper.

It was unclear when Dischman would be released from the hospital. Court papers did not say if she had hired an attorney.

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