The Register’s “ What patients should know about hospital drug testing ” missed some key information that may help families disrupt the illegal maternal and newborn drug screening practices taking place at Iowa hospitals and clinics.
The Supreme Court ruli ng in 20 01 Ferguson v. Charleston made it clear that prenatal drug testing without specific informed consent is unlawful; however, this practice is still happening at some Iowa clinics and hospitals when urine is gathered for testing of urinary tract infections or to check urine glucose or protein levels. Such practices are not only unlawful, but they create mistrust of the medical system, which puts the lives of moms and babies at risk. Regarding newborn drug testing, Iowa Code section 232.77 states very narrow criteria for drug testing of newborns without parental consent. According to the law, for a newborn to be tested without parental consent a practitioner must document “physical or behavioral symptoms of the effects of exposure to (illicit drugs).”