In this day and age it is common knowledge that drugs and alcohol don't mix well with pregnancy. Unfortunately, common sense is not a virtue, and in this case it appears that intelligence was also a sparse commodity. The combination of the two makes for a perfect example of why some people should have to obtain a license to breed.
Case in point, the recent arrest of Nicole Marie Vanneil, a 22-year-old resident of Lutz, Florida, who recently racked up her third DUI arrest. The case would normally not merit much attention; however, in Vanneil's case she was 8 months pregnant when police arrested her earlier last month. To her chagrin, police have now released the dashcam footage from that arrest, which shows an obviously pregnant Vanneil failing miserably to make it through a field sobriety test.
According to police, a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy was en route to another call at 10:49 p.m. on April 17 when he spotted Vanneil's van swerving in front of him on Hanna Road in Lutz.
"The van ran off the road; actually crossed the center line a couple of times," sheriff's spokesman J. D. Callaway told The Tampa Tribune.
After shadowing the vehicle for a few miles, the deputy tripped the switch to his siren and conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle. According to police, the deputy smelled the odor of marijuana when he approached the vehicle, and upon making contact with Vanneil, he observed that her eyes were droopy. As a result, the deputy requested assistance from another patrol unit so he could conduct a field sobriety test (video here).
Police say Vanneil failed the test and that she refused to give consent for blood and urine tests. When the deputies searched Vanneil's car, they found marijuana and drug paraphernalia hidden both under the seat and inside the vehicle's center console. As a result, Vanneil was taken to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, where she was booked and charged with DUI, possession of less than 20 grams of cannabis, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
"You're not just affecting your pregnancy now, but you're affecting the rest of the child's life," TGH/USF Health Maternal Medicine Professor Victoria Belogolovkin told Foxnews.com yesterday. "There really are two people. There's a mom and a baby."
Yesterday, Vanneil spoke briefly about her arrest with Baynews9.com (video here). When asked whether she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol when police stopped her, Vanneil responded, "No, no." After learning police had released the dashcam footage, an emotional Vanneil placed a call to an unknown person. As the camera continued to roll, Vanneil was recorded as saying, "She [the reporter] said that the police released that video!" Fighting back tears, Vanneil explained further, "the video when they arrested me!"
Considering her previous run-ins with the law, Vanneil's proclamations of innocence make for a hard pill to swallow.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's records show Vanneil has two previous arrests for DUI. Three show up when you conduct a search of their records; however one is a duplicate.
On February 5, 2004, Vanneil was arrested at the intersection of Dale Mabry Highway north and North Lakeview Drive and charged with DUI. Records show her blood alcohol content [B.A.C.] was .117/.104.
One year later, on March 20, 2005, Vanneil was arrested and charged with DUI and leaving the scene of a crash. Records show her B.A.C. was .098/.086.
According to Baynews9.com, the DUI charges in the March 2005 arrest were later dropped and she was instead charged with reckless driving.
When I first learned of this case, the immediate question that came to mind was whether Vanneil could be charged with some form of child abuse, for allegedly drinking while pregnant. Unfortunately, based on my own research, the answer to that question appears to be no.
When I contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to find out whether there were any additional charges they could level against Vanneil for endangering her unborn child, I was directed to spokesman J. D. Callaway; however, he was unavailable for comment. I spoke with a deputy sheriff, who said, based on her own knowledge of the law, there were no charges they could press against Vanneil in regard to the child's welfare. "No, none that I am aware of," she said.
I then contacted the Florida Department of Children and Families to see whether a child abuse or similar type of report could be filed against Vanneil. According to the agent I spoke with, they are unable to intervene.
"We have no jurisdiction over an unborn child," said the agent, who did not identify herself. "The only way we could take your report would be if the child were born with fetal alcohol syndrome. You can contact the Family Hotline and recommend the mother for counseling but she would have to be willing to cooperate in the program. I don't know of an agency that would require her to participate."
My final call was placed to Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi, a no-nonsense prosecutor, who has an impressive history of convictions under her belt. Unfortunately, Pam said she could not go into any specific details.
"It is a pending case," she said, adding, "We will be seeking prison time."
It remains unclear whether Vanneil can be hospitalized under the "Baker Act," a Florida law that allows for the involuntary commitment of an individual. According to Wikipedia, the law can be "initiated by judges, law enforcement officials, or mental health professionals." There must, however, be evidence that the person, "(a) has a mental illness (as defined in the Baker Act) and (b) is a harm to self, harm to others, or self-neglectful (as defined in the Baker Act)."
It is unfortunate that in this day and age nothing can immediately be done to protect an unborn child. Cases like this should serve as notice to lawmakers that child abuse laws need to be reevaluated. If an expectant mother is going to abuse her body while pregnant, then she should be held accountable, and the state or jurisdiction where she resides should be able to intervene and ensure that no further abuse occurs. The state should also be allowed to evaluate the case once the child is born, to determine whether the individual's parenting privileges should be revoked. Some may think such a law would give the state too much power over parental rights, but I say if a person is going to abuse her unborn fetus, what type of parent is she going to be once that child is born? Think about it.
Investigation Discovery will be following this case closely as it proceeds through the criminal justice system.
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