Pregnant drug trafficker pleads with judge to avoid jail for the sake of her baby.

A lawyer in South Australia has argued that a pregnant drug trafficker should have her sentence reduced so she can bond with her unborn baby.

SA is the only state without specialist “mothers and babies” facilities having cancelled its program more than a decade ago.

Barrister Heather Stokes told the court that judges ‘must not wash their hands of jailed mothers and their babies’ because ‘a good mother is more important to the child’s long-term welfare than a good father’.

Soraya Louise Constant, 30, who is 22 weeks pregnant, sought leave to appeal against her 18-month prison sentence for drug charges.

Soraya Louise Constant, 30 leaves court. Via ABCNews.

Ms Stokes told the Court of Criminal Appeal that Constant would miss out on bonding with her eldest child, and give birth to her second behind bars, unless it allowed her legal challenge to go ahead.

"Unlike every other mainland state, ours is the only prison system that does not provide facilities for women to take their babies with them into custody,” Ms Stokes said.

“If one of the imprisonment options available in SA was the Black Hole of Calcutta, a court would not ignore that — it would fashion a sentence appropriately.”

“This court cannot be a Pontius Pilate toward the prison system, and children’s future should not be sacrificed.

“My client’s children will have no primary attachment except to their father, and a good father is not the same, at any stretch, as a good mother.”

She was jailed in April after pleading guilty to attempting to import pseudoephedrine that was her second offence, committed while serving a suspended sentence for previous drug trafficking reports The Advertiser.

In January Ms Constant asked the court for mercy saying her child would likely repeat her criminal mistakes if they were separated by an immediate prison term.

Ms Stokes told the judge earlier this year:

“The end result is I will probably be looking after my client’s child (in court) in 10 to 15 years’ time because the seeds are being planted now, that’s the effect of the research,”

“The primary concern is the baby, the consequences or potential consequences of removing a child between the ages of zero and three from the mother.

“So please, be merciful to her because that way you are being merciful to her child.”

She was jailed in April. Via IStock.

Women who give birth while in custody in South Australia are returned to prison after 48 hours, and their babies placed into care with relatives or by Families SA.

But in sentencing, District Court Judge Paul Cuthbertson said while the state’s system was “undoubtedly inadequate” compared with those interstate, which cater to women with babies, jail was “an unavoidable consequence” of such serious offending

Yesterday, on appeal Justice Sam Doyle said Judge Cuthbertson had “clearly” taken all matters into account and had made no error.

“I accept the inability of the prison system to cater adequately for women with young children is a very relevant consideration,” he said.

“However, I’m not satisfied that, in the circumstances of this case, it’s sufficient enough to amount of a reasonably arguable ground.”

Ms Stokes later said she was “disappointed” at the court’s decision.

“The crucial thing is Justice Doyle accepted (prison inadequacy) was a relevant consideration, and that, as he said, it’s unsatisfactory,” she said.

“Generally speaking, because it’s not true across the board, mothers who carry their babies, give birth and are good mothers are better as primary carers,” she said.

“That’s not true in every single case but, as a matter of general principle of course, it’s true.

“Primary carers are crucial, and they are usually the mum, and courts need to take this into account.”

Constant will be forced to relinquish the baby just days after giving birth. She will also be limited to about two hours' contact a week with her 20-month-old daughter throughout her prison term.