El Cajon

A woman charged with criminal neglect for allegedly taking illicit drugs and ignoring a doctor’s advice during pregnancy was released from jail Wednesday after posting $2,500 bond.

Pamela Rae Stewart, 27, of El Cajon had been held at the Las Colinas County Jail for women since last Thursday.

Her son died Jan. 1, six weeks after he was born with severe brain damage. Tests detected traces of amphetamines in the infant’s bloodstream. Prosecutors allege that Stewart willfully ignored a doctor’s advice to abstain from drug use and seek immediate medical care if bleeding developed late in her pregnancy, though she knew that failure to follow the orders could place the child at risk.

She pleaded not guilty last week to the misdemeanor charge. Legal experts consider the case an important test of the rights of the unborn fetus and the responsibility of a pregnant woman to her unborn child.