Pregnant and postpartum people and their newborn babies are typically drug tested in medical settings without their knowledge or explicit, informed consent. This testing disproportionately targets Black women and mothers. Positive toxicology results are too often reported to government officials and used to support criminal and civil child abuse or neglect prosecutions.
Clinical drug testing, without specific informed consent, is used as an excuse to intrude into people’s lives with grave consequences, including criminal proceedings and family separation.
Pregnancy Justice’s fact sheet “Clinical Drug Testing of Pregnant People and Newborns” summarizes the facts about clinical drug testing.