A pregnant woman took a prescribed opioid for her chronic pain. Now she's facing a felony charge.

[Jilly_in_VA]

Kim Blalock, who says she has chronic back pain, battled excruciating aches during her most recent pregnancy, so she turned to painkillers prescribed by her doctor, hoping for relief.

Instead, the 36-year-old mother of six has endured a distressing ordeal: Her baby tested positive for the opioid, which precipitated an investigation that led an Alabama prosecutor to charge Blalock with prescription fraud in a case her attorneys say is an unprecedented violation of a pregnant woman’s privacy and freedoms. Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly said this is the first time he has prosecuted a pregnant woman refilling her prescription as fraud.

“I’m not a crusader,” he told The Washington Post. “I’m not looking to make precedent about this, but the facts are the facts. Our position is that she concealed the material fact from her doctor that she was pregnant in order to continue to get hydrocodone.”

This new punitive step in Alabama, the state with the nation’s harshest statute against drug use during pregnancy, is part of policies set by dozens of states that researchers say are “divorced from health care.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/06/24/pregnant-woman-charged-prescription/

________________________

Alabama is a Third World country within the United States. This is appalling.

[onecaliberal]

1. Who is she? I will help her get to another state to get healthcare.

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. Her name is Kim Blalock

Read the article if you can. I know WaPo is subscription but this is an important story.

[onecaliberal]

3. 👍 thanks

[CountAllVotes]

4. The way many chronic pain patients are treated is a disgrace

They are drug tested, humiliated and rejected by far too many physicians and in some cases, pharmacies as well.

It is a very difficult life to live if you have a chronic/painful disease or illness that too many people out there are trying to live with.

By stripping them of their medications and/or treating them as this woman and her child are being treated is disgraceful.



& recommend.

[Maraya1969]

10. You wouldn't believe the way my doctor treats me and everyone in his practice.

I made some complaints to the right people and maybe some others have too so they have lowered the amount they charge when you use a credit card for between $10-$100 to $3. It used to be $10.

Even if you are going to have a home visit you have to drive down to their office and pay by cash or they will charge you the extra for using a credit card.

Plus he has collected a "Medicare deductible" every year from me until this one when I finally called them and was told I don't have to pay a deductible. Even so I get calls telling me I owe them over $200 for this years deductible.

And I have been told by another doctor friend not to make a scene because other pain med doctors may not accept me. Apparently they have taken away the licenses from so many that the ones that are left feel like they can be shitty to their patients because we can't go anywhere else. And that is kind of the case!

[Jilly_in_VA]

15. Amen to that!

And some docs who set themselves up as "pain specialists" are adding to the problem, which is another story.

As a nurse, I really Feel for anyone with a chronic, painful disease, or even one that lasts for awhile. I dealt with pain for almost a year and there were days I thought I was going crazy.

[CountAllVotes]

18. I had one of those

And then came the next step: The mandatory drug testing

I have a 215 card to purchase medical MJ with.

The doctor I was going to would have dismissed me if I use it even though it is legal where I live.

I had to find another doctor to go to and it was not an easy task.

Luckily I managed to find one that is much closer to where I live.

The treatment I receive is spotty at best but it is far better than the other doctor, the "pain expert" was.

After getting my records (pre-digitized records days) I was shocked by what had been written about me.

I got away from this "doctor" who also portends to be a "neurologist" as well except this person has no advanced training in this specialty.

They use this person as a back-up for the few neurologists that are here and oh what a huge joke it is to me. Neurologist? What neurologist!?

This whole topic brings great sadness to me.

I am old now and I think they are figuring I won't be around for too much longer so to hell with me which suits me just fine.

However, these same principles are being applied to our veterans and others that are younger than me and they do not deserve to be treated like they are criminals because they are sick and suffer from chronic pain!

[Phoenix61]

5. It's an issue because she refilled a prescription

she got while not pregnant after she became pregnant and the baby tested positive for opioids. I disagree with the idea that people with chronic pain shouldn’t be on opioids for the rest of their life. Until they come up with something better why shouldn’t they.

[CountAllVotes]

6. Needless to say I agree

I have MS and suffer from chronic pain.

What I go through is pretty damn sad, that's all I can say.

Dehumanizing is just one word for it.

Suicide due to pain is becoming more and more common as chronic pain patients are being cut off of their medications thanks to this ever so stupid War of Drugs!

[Phoenix61]

8. The most important part of solving a problem is correctly identifying it.

Opioids weren’t the problem. Unscrupulous doctors gaming the system was and it happened in plain sight. Pain clinics with clients from out of state and lines wrapping around the building should have been a clue yet no one did anything. State licensing boards were unwilling and/or unable to act so now comes the over reaction where no one, including those the medications were actually made for, can get them. I’m so sorry you are caught up in it.

[CountAllVotes]

11. no choice

They have no cure for me.

They have no treatment for the cause of the pain.

Thanks for your kind reply.

[Maraya1969]

7. She didn't take any until the last 6 weeks.

"When she was pregnant with her youngest son this year, she stopped taking the hydrocodone until six weeks before the birth, when she said the pain was unbearable."

[treestar]

9. Avoid this by telling the doctor you are pregnant

They still might prescribe it, if the pain is bad enough. Weight the risks. The problem with this was she didn't allow the MD to do that. Though most would say the MD should have asked if she was pregnant.

[fescuerescue]

12. How is the baby?

I'm curious what led to such an extensive investigation of this woman.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

14. I'm sure it's fine. Addicted newborns feel like crap, cry a lot, don't eat much, have diarrhea

and sleep a lot less than normal.

Basically they go through withdrawals for a few days, then they're perfectly fine.

[Jilly_in_VA]

16. It's Alabummer.

Isn't that enough? I'd be willing to bet that she is either a woman of color or if she is a white woman, she is on Medicaid.

[hunter]

19. Could've been smoking and alcohol, which is worse.

Or heavily processed foods and soft drinks.

Not that I'm trying to give Alabama any ideas about which moms to persecute next.

They're still pissed off women and children aren't considered property anymore.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

13. If you don't want drug-addicted newborns, a big help would be easy/cheap access to abortion

Alabama pols aren't smart enough to figure that out though of course, and instead make abortions as difficult as possible.

And I think you should be able to buy opioids at the corner drug store myself. Behind the counter, and regulated like the pseudoephedrine drugs.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

17. Surely there are pain relievers other than opioids?

I'm also under the impression that they are not very effective.

But yeah, she should have told the doctor she was pregnant.

[Jilly_in_VA]

20. Did you READ the article?

She took other pain relievers right up until the last few weeks, when her chronic back pain became unbearable. By then I'm sure the doc could SEE she was pregnant, even on a telemedicine visit.

[hunter]

21. Side effects of opiates at reasonable doses are mild compared to Acetaminophen or NSAIDS.

I'm scared to death of NSAIDS anymore. They make my guts bleed and that hurts like hell.

Years ago, when Celebrex was advertised as a miracle drug for arthritis, one that didn't cause stomach problems, my doctor gave me a prescription for it. Everything was fine for awhile... and then all hell broke loose in my guts. I also had a some heart stuff and ended up wearing one of those 24/7 heart monitor vests for a week.

That all went away when I quit NSAIDS. I know the stomach stuff is caused by NSAIDS. Sometimes I'll try taking naproxen again and I always end up regretting it. I don't know if the heart stuff was coincidental.

As it turned out, studies that showed Celebrex caused stomach problems were suppressed, and other studies were fabricated.

NSAIDS have "C" and "D" ratings in pregnancy. This scale is A B C D X.

A is no known risk, and X means "Contraindicated in pregnancy."

Hydrocodone has a "C" rating.

I'm not a doctor, and I don't have any special expertise, but I do have a lot of personal experience with chronic pain issues. When I was young I thought I was some kind of superhero. Now it's all coming back to bite me.