The answer is when you kill a breastfed baby with alcohol poisoning.
This is not about abortion, although arguably this baby would have been better off not being born. Unfortunately, baby Sapphire was born into a family that did not care for her properly. They certainly lacked the motivation to give her the care she deserved, which is her basic human right.
“Janice Tua gave birth to twin girls, Sapphire and Honey, who were pre-term babies with low birth weights and related medical issues, the coroner reported.
Ms Tua had seven other children aged six to one.
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Janice Tua is also a heavy drinker.
Toxicology revealed the amount of alcohol found in Sapphire’s blood from her heart was 308 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. The blood alcohol limit for drivers 20 or over is 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres.
Forensic pathologist Dr Simon Stables said the blood alcohol level in Sapphire would be sufficient to cause her death.”
Sapphire was a breastfed baby and her mother had been drinking for several days before her death.
“Coroner Debra Bell said Ms Tua explained in her statement that she was drinking a few days before Sapphire’s death, and stated she was “at one of the cousins’ house and I got on the P … two days before baby died”.
Ms Tua said she only drank a pre-mix bourbon and cola and thought she would have drunk a box – 18 cans. It would have taken her the day to drink the box and she went to bed about midnight. She described herself as feeling tipsy.
Ms Tua stated it was the following night that Sapphire passed away. She said on the day before Sapphire passed away she did breastfeed her and gave her maybe one bottle of formula. But on the day Sapphire died she was drinking, so she gave the baby bottles of formula instead of breast milk.”
Was Janice lying about feeding Sapphire formula? It is inconceivable that Sapphire would have a blood alcohol level six times that of an adult if she had been fed solely formula in the 12 hours before she died.
Where was Sapphire’s father when her mother was drunk? Where were whanau?
“Ms Tua and the twins’ father were staying in Ahipara with family at the time of Sapphire’s death.”
Did the father and whanau fail to notice the baby’s mother was drunk? Who was looking after the other seven children all under six years old?
This is a tragedy of ill-equipped parents, unsupported by whanau with no excuse for not intervening prior to Sapphire’s tragic death. We have too many children dying of neglect and an overhaul of our welfare system is well overdue.