The Sunday, August 3rd New York Times printed an Associated Press article
about Amoret Powell, the mother in Tucson Arizona who (along with her
husband) is accused of first-degree murder because her infant ingested heroin
and methadone in her breastmilk.

I won't reproduce the article here, but here are the important points:

The couple was also charged with child abuse for failing to give the baby
prompt medical attention and exposing two other children (their 2 year old
son and Ms. Powells' 6 year old daughter) to their drug abuse.

The mother told investigators that she had been "clean" for about two years,
but began using heroin again after the baby was born in May.  Police found
about one hundred used syringes and other drug paraphernalia in the couple's
home.

"Ms. Powell told investigators that she would inject heroin, then pump milk
out of her breasts two hours later and discard it before breast-feeding again
later, state records show.  "For some reason, I thought that it would be O.K.
if I did that," Ms. Powell is quoted as saying in a report released by
Arizona Child Protective Services.  "It's stupid, I know," she said."

Toxicology reports were pending, but the heroin-methadone combination is
known to cause oxygen deprivation and death.

The couple had been permitted to take the baby home despite their history of
drug use because authorities thought the mother was only taking methadone,
and the mother was "well motivated, persistent and attentive...a real
pleasure to work with."

Mothers who take methadone are often encouraged to breastfeed because it
helps wean their babies off the drug.

The article briefly mentioned two other cases where mothers faced murder
charges for breastfeeding while taking methamphetamine: in Bakersfield,
California, the jury deadlocked on the murder charge but convicted the mother
of child endangerment;  in Los Angeles, the mother pleaded guilty.

Rita