This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the US criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, and Facebook.
A growing number of states are considering legislation to set up protections for patients who might be drug tested when they give birth.
Three of the bills were introduc...
The strongest version of this narrative highlights a critical gap in patient rights: involuntary drug testing during childbirth can lead to unjust child welfare interventions, particularly for women using legal medications or consuming harmless substances. The reporting credibly demonstrates how false positives and overbroad policies disproportionately harm families, often without medical justification. However, the narrative leans heavily on emotional appeals—such as the trauma of having a newb...