Legal Opinion
Whitner v. State
Supreme Court of South Carolina
Decided October 27, 1997No. 24468PublishedCited by 95 opinions
1Opinion of the Court
TOAL, Justice.
This case concerns the scope of the child abuse and endangerment statute in the South Carolina Children’s Code (the Code), S.C.Code Ann. § 20-7-50 (1985).1 We hold the word “child” as used in that statute includes viable fetuses.
FACTS
On April 20,1992, Cornelia Whitner (Whitner) pled guilty to criminal child neglect, S.C.Code Ann. § 20-7-50 (1985), for causing her baby to be born with cocaine metabolites in its system by reason of Whitner’s ingestion of crack cocaine during the third trimester of her pregnancy. The circuit court judge sentenced Whitner to eight years in prison.…
2Cases cited26 opinions
- Strickland v. WashingtonSupreme Court of the United States · 1984
- Hill v. LockhartSupreme Court of the United States · 1985
- Roe v. WadeSupreme Court of the United States · 1973
- Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pa. v. CaseySupreme Court of the United States · 1992
- Skinner v. Oklahoma Ex Rel. WilliamsonSupreme Court of the United States · 1942
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3Cited by95 opinions
- Ferguson v. City of CharlestonSupreme Court of the United States · 2001
- State v. PittmanSupreme Court of South Carolina · 2007
- CFRE, LLC v. Greenville County AssessorSupreme Court of South Carolina · 2011
- Ray Bell Construction Co. v. School DistrictSupreme Court of South Carolina · 1998
- State v. McKnightSupreme Court of South Carolina · 2003
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