Judge says fetus should be protected, force addicted mothers into treatment. (Child & Family).

WINNIPEG -- The Manitoba government was urged to consider drafting "appropriate constitutional legislation to protect fetuses from the effects of substance abuse" in an inquest report stemming from the suicide of a 15-year old boy.

The report raises again an issue which came up earlier when the Winnipeg Child and Family Services attempted to require an expectant mother to undergo addiction treatment. A court decided that the case violated the Charter rights of the mother. However, the woman agreed voluntarily to accept treatment.

The report, written by Judge Linda Giesbrecht, after a lengthy inquest into the suicide death of Patrick Redhead while he was in provincial custody, contains more than 70 recommendations to the provincial government and its social service agencies in order to prevent such a suicide from occurring again.

Patrick Redhead, who took his own life in August 1999, was according to the report "likely damaged before his birth, due to his mother's consumption of alcohol." The report also indicates that his mother, who was a chronic alcoholic, was "abusive and incapable of caring for any of her children for any extended period of time."

By the time he was twelve years of age, Patrick was a permanent ward of Thompson Region Child and Family Services and was described by Judge Giesbrecht as a "very damaged child who had a myriad of problems and issues and a pervasive rage that made him a very difficult child to deal with."

Concentrating on his anger and the way in which various agencies and foster homes dealt with him along with the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Judge Giesbrecht's lengthy report highlighted Patrick's positive attributes, including his talent as a gifted artist.

Among her recommendations Judge Giesbrecht suggested that when a child has been assessed as having FAS/FAE "all agencies that are involved in planning for that child should place particular emphasis on the need for a stable, structured, and consistent home life and should make every effort to avoid frequent changes of placement for that child."

The report also presents several recommendations regarding fetal alcohol syndrome, including education programs about the effects of the syndrome be developed and taught to all students at the Junior and High School level as part of a mandatory curriculum; all child care, health care, teachers and day care workers be given mandatory education in FAS/FAE to assist them in recognizing fetal alcohol damage in children; appropriate education programs be developed for FAS/FAE children "so that the school experience for these children can be a positive one"; parents who have given birth to once FAS/FAE child receive intensive education, intervention, support and supervision through child and family service agencies "in order to reduce the likelihood of such damage to any future children."

The report also recommends six separate changes that should occur in assessing and diagnosing FAS/FAE, including any children born to a woman who gave birth to a FAS/FAE child of whom a child caring agency is aware, be assessed for fatal alcohol damage.