The High Court today rejected the case of Regina Knight, a drug addict who was convicted and sent to prison due to delivering a still-born baby.

Regina McKnight is serving 12 to 20 years in South Carolina for killing her daughter. McKnight tested positive for cocaine in the hospital and acknowledged that she had used crack cocaine while pregnant. The dead child had drugs in her system.

McKnight's lawyers say she is the only woman convicted of homicide after suffering a stillbirth. She challenged her treatment as unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment, and her case also raised questions about the legal and constitutional rights of pregnant women and the fetuses they carry.

Ms. McKnight had the support of a large segment of the medical community, inlcuding the American Public Health Association, American Psychiatric Association and the National Association of Social Workers. Here's a letter signed by numerous groups, detailing why she should not have been convicted.

McKnight's supporters say her case represents a dangerous trend toward holding pregnant women legally liable for all manner of questionable behavior or potentially harmful decisions. "It is quite disturbing in terms of women's autonomy over their bodies while pregnant," said Wyndi Anderson, director of South Carolina Advocates for Pregnant Women.