4-Year-Old Overdoses on Birthday, Parents Face Charges

(ProsperNews.net) – Police arrested the parents of a 4-year-old child who overdosed on Fentanyl on his birthday. Denard Bishop and Alexis Scarborough were both charged with child endangerment after the young boy was found struggling to breathe in his bedroom. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center subsequently reported the incident to law enforcement and described the child’s condition as resulting from “abuse.”

Scarborough pleaded not guilty, and the judge set a $10,000 bond and ordered her to have no further contact with the boy without express permission.

The incident happened in Ohio when Scarborough visited the child’s father to celebrate his birthday. Doctors say the young boy suffered from “agonal breathing” – a near-fatal condition caused by lack of oxygen.

The 4-year-old is one of a growing number of American children affected by Fentanyl, which Republicans argue is entering the US via a porous southern border. The deadly drug is manufactured by cartels south of the border and is considered far more dangerous than heroin or other opioid drugs.

In Washington, police arrested a couple in January and charged them with first-degree manslaughter when their 4-year-old daughter died from ingesting Fentanyl. The child died at a motel in Kennewick, having taken Fentanyl while her parents allegedly used drugs in the bathroom.

According to a 2021 report, the number of incidents involving children and Fentanyl had increased significantly over the previous decade. Data published in JAMA Pediatrics revealed there were 1,550 pediatric deaths from Fentanyl in 2021, more than 30 times the number from a decade earlier.

Julie Gaither, assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, said that in most cases, children are taking the drug after finding it in their homes, adding, “It’s so potent it doesn’t take much for them to take a lethal dose.” Fentanyl is around 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more than morphine. Narcan can reverse its effects, but it often requires several doses.

Copyright 2024, ProsperNews.net