Philadelphia, Pennsylvania —
A story out of the Philadelphia area is serving as a reminder of the devastation wrought by the opioid epidemic.
According to WPVI, two police officers were patrolling the Allegheny Station area in Kensington around 4 p.m. Monday.
A passerby alerted the officers to a pregnant female who was unconscious. They administered Narcan to the woman twice before she regained consciousness.
“At that time, the Philadelphia Fire Department came over to the location and she refused their services. She didn’t want to go to the hospital. She didn’t want any kind of medical treatment. She got up and left the area,” SEPTA Police Lt. Michael Fox said.
Less than one hour later, the officers spotted the woman again. She was laying unconscious on the sidewalk. The two picked her up and drove her to a nearby hospital.
SEPTA Transit Police Chief Thomas J. Nestel III shared the incident on Twitter, writing: “Woman, app 7mos pregnant, given Narcan by Transit Police for heroin OD. Refused transport to hospital. 40 minutes later she OD’d again.”
Many responded to the post with sadness, some with anger.
“In a situation like this can she be involuntarily committed to a hospital or facility that could help her?” one person asked.
Nestel replied: “That question has been bounced around among attorneys guiding 1st responders on whether invol [involuntary] treatment is permitted. Not looking promising.”
Fox said the incident was something that weighed heavily on the responding officers.
“It’s devastating, absolutely devastating. It’s heartbreaking to see this happen. I am a father, I can only think about my own children. [When] something like this happens, it’s a terrible issue,” Fox said.
Obviously the child she’s carrying isn’t important enough to stop doing what she’s doing. I’ve often wondered why women that are addicted to drugs don’t take precautions to avoid getting pregnant because they obviously care nothing about the child or they would stop and spare the baby from having to withdraw or worse maybe a deformity and possibly death.
Maybe she was raped and thought she’d keep the baby, but isn’t coping well with the cercumstance, maybe She’s being abused and wanted to spare her child from being brought into a de estate get situation( not saying this is okay) maybe a lot of things no one knows anyone’s story. I agree that the opioids abuse is just out of control . But as a mother and as a daughter from a family whom addiction runs strong in I have so much understanding and hope for people that others don’t seem to understand. You never ever know what someone’s going thru. I’ve helped many people get clean, I’ve myself lossed family to drugs, raised in the system and thankfully have a better understanding than most . But what this woman does not need is people like this bringing her down. She needs support, encouragement, maybe rehab but it’s not even announced that she has a problem with drugs, or maybe she just needs encarceration and a little time to sit and deal with her actions she’s choosing, getting a clear mind could help her in so many ways. I suffer from anxiety and depression and cannot tell u how many times I wanted to end everything thinking my family wouldn’t care, they’d be better without me, but it’s a phase, a temporary feeling that sometimes people need help getting pulled out of.