WJJQ LOCAL NEWS
Woman may face charges of using drugs while pregnant

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

One of the Merrill women charged yesterday with possessing methamphetamine and morphine is also facing charges she used those drugs while she was pregnant.

A Lincoln County judge will decide during a preliminary hearing next month whether there's enough evidence to bind Melissa Lemke over on charges of aggravated battery to an unborn child and recklessly endangering safety.

Lemke tested positive for opiates, amphetamines and oxycodone the day she gave birth to her daughter last year, according to court documents.

She told police she was unaware that she was pregnant until an hour before she gave birth. She said the pregnancy “blindsided” her and “that if it wasn't for the drugs she would have known she was pregnant,” according to a police report.

Lemke admitted taking 20 Vicodin pills a day and said she would use three to four morphine pills a day if she had them. She began using the drugs daily after her second child was born to deal with postpartum depression.

Another mother was recently charged in Lincoln county with aggravated battery to an unborn child. She was sentenced to two years probation, including parenting classes and drug screenings, after she admitted smoking marijuana while she was pregnant.

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