Kirsten Lamb pregnancy must be explained: ethics specialist
The pregnancy of an Alberta Hospital patient while living in a secure forensic unit is raising concerns over the quality of her care.
“Oh, a lot of questions need to be answered, yes,” said ethics educator and consultant Laura Shanner.
On Thursday, a jury found 31-year-old Kirsten Lamb mentally unfit to stand trial in the death of her mother.
Sandra Lamb, 49, was found dead inside her Capilano home in November 2010. The older woman was found with her throat slashed and blunt force trauma to her head and neck.
Kristen Lamb showed up to her hearing earlier this week visibly pregnant. Court was told that she is due in early November.
The child was conceived while Lamb was a patient at Alberta Hospital, where she has lived in a secure ward since December 2013.
A psychiatrist said he believes Lamb is schizophrenic and suffers from delusions. She is not on her anti-psychotic medication because of her pregnancy.
“Whether it's a caregiver who really was supposed to be taking care of her and not taking advantage of her … or whether it's another patient or inmate – which means the security systems and protections for other patients are not as strong as they need to be – either way, there's a problem there,” said Shanner.
“There needs to be an inquiry into how it's possible, not just that a patient gets pregnant – but that a patient in what's supposed to be a secure lockdown gets pregnant,” she added.
Shanner said the pregnancy raises questions of consent, noting that a severely delusional schizophrenic could not provide informed consent to sex.
Alberta Health Services refused an interview, but released a written statement saying "the care and well-being of our patients is our first concern."
AHS said sexual relations are not allowed between patients or patients and visitors.
