Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

[Medusa]

Just like the title says.

How do you feel about this? Why not test the fathers? If mother's who are on drugs are unfit to parent, shouldn't the same be said for fathers? Is this an invasion of your privacy? I realize we all want to think about the safety of a newborn. But when it's you on that blood chart..how will you feel if they find something that the State deems unacceptable as a parent.

mamadramasauce

[MaskedOne]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

The drug testing in and of itself I don't care about (at least during pregnancy, afterward I would need to see a decent case), I would actually call them reckless if they didn't, because a lot of substances can have a nasty effect on child or mother if a woman has them in her system while pregnant. It's due diligence to find out if there are any chemicals in the mother's system that might kill someone if things go wrong.

Reporting said information to law enforcement and watching all kinds of stupid go into effect after....

That I'm far less amused about. Discouraging a mother from seeking medical care endangers the mother and the child while failing to serve society and that's about what I expect this to do.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

I don't know...

Medical workers are required, by law, to maintain the privacy of patients.

However, medical workers are also mandatory reporters.

Bit of a weird situation...

[ThePaganMafia]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

Operative word here is "secret".

I'm which case it is in complete violation of the patients rights. I have always found that whatever my home State is doing is about the opposite of what I should be going for.

- - - Updated - - -

Alabama: Doesn't give a shit about women's health until you smoke a joint. And then we still don't care cause were going to put your ass in jail.

And just look to Google for some stories about the female jails in Alabama.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

Strange as this may seem, the child is as much a patient as is the mother. The hospital has an obligation to the child, as well as the parent.

[Shahaku]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

I know I've seen signs that say something along the lines of "By choosing to receive your care here, you are recognizing that we will drug test you at every appointment. Should you show a positive test now or at the time of birth, we will report you to Social Services."

But, they are informing the patients in that case. I don't think they should be able to legally perform any test on a patient without at least informing them.

[thalassa]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

Who do they bill for this?

[DragonsFriend]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

When you sign the consent form for services you are giving the hospital/doctor the power to report dangerous actions to the proper authorities. The doctor patient confidentiality agreement ends where your safety and/or the safety of others is put in jeopardy. As a minister, I too, am a mandatory reporter. I am required to report anyone who is a danger to themselves or others including sexual predation. Even a Catholic priest, hearing a confession, must report if he believes that anyone is in danger. If a priest hears the confession of a murder and there is no current danger to anyone else he cannot be required to report it and, in fact, is not allowed by the church to share that information. The same is true for a psychiatrist but not for a psychologist. A psychiatrist cannot share information about a patient unless a present danger exists but a psychologist can be required to testify about past crimes of his patient.

[Briton]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

It would be far more constructive to refer the mother for treatment. To report them doesn't really achieve much in the long run, separating mother and child by force is not going to help her drug problem and unless you intend to forcefully sterilize her (a whole other can of worms) she may well get pregnant again, if of course the trauma doesn't drive her to suicide.

Remember, these are human lives. These are daughters, sisters, real people.

I understand the desire to care for the child but there is a third way. Get her help. How much would it cost to a) have the child taken away, b) incarcerate her c) deal with the next probable pregnancy to the tax payer compared to just getting her through rehab and out of her old haunts? The child would remain with its biological mother, which is preferred where possible, the mother would get to properly care for her child and it would both lower pointless incarceration rates and lessen the load on child services.

Over the pond, we get stories that the health and police service is not on the side of the people but actively treats them like a pest. This sort of thing reinforces that. In the UK, if you overdose on drugs and are taken to hospital, you are not then taken to the police.

[SleepingCompass]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

Ugh, I usually try to stay away from the news because of stuff like this; it makes me so angry!

I hate that they do this; that women are ending up in prison and loosing their children because of it. If they're forcing tests on the mother, the father should be forced to submit to testing too. Although, I think the testing is wrong in the first place if all they're using it for is to fill up the prisons. If it's for medical concerns, then the patient should be informed of the tests and no legal ramifications should apply.

As bad as this may sound to some people, I don't view it as child abuse. The child isn't born yet, so it's the mother's body first. Obviously, it's not something I'm happy about or advocate, but I do see it as a slippery slope when we treat women's bodies as being baby carrying machines and losing basic human rights (such as the right to privacy) because of their ability to bring children into the world.

[Tylluan Penry]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

That's a bloody awful idea. Offer help, not sanctions.

[Briton]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

Ugh, I usually try to stay away from the news because of stuff like this; it makes me so angry!

I hate that they do this; that women are ending up in prison and loosing their children because of it. If they're forcing tests on the mother, the father should be forced to submit to testing too. Although, I think the testing is wrong in the first place if all they're using it for is to fill up the prisons. If it's for medical concerns, then the patient should be informed of the tests and no legal ramifications should apply.

As bad as this may sound to some people, I don't view it as child abuse. The child isn't born yet, so it's the mother's body first. Obviously, it's not something I'm happy about or advocate, but I do see it as a slippery slope when we treat women's bodies as being baby carrying machines and losing basic human rights (such as the right to privacy) because of their ability to bring children into the world.

In this instance it's hard to tell as there is a definite line between foetus and mother. The alcohol she drinks will not have the impact on the foetus that it does on the woman. If only! Ergo the needs of the unborn are not the same, and unless she intends to abort, she would be actively bringing into the world a child who has been damaged in utero. The foetus is not merely 'a part of the woman' otherwise it would be affected like her and I personally think it is irresponsible modern feminism to pretend that the foetus is indistinguishable from the mother.

Now, this doesn't mean that abortions can be a better idea than carrying through to term, although such a situation should always be considered sad.

All I mean is to say that from the very beginning, the foetus, although dependent on the mother, is a separate entity. And certainly not, as some vile people do, a 'parasite'.

I guess what I mean is that the needs of a foetus are not above or below that of the mother, but they are separate. Thankfully, the vast majority of women are level headed and not selfish.

[SleepingCompass]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

In this instance it's hard to tell as there is a definite line between foetus and mother. The alcohol she drinks will not have the impact on the foetus that it does on the woman. If only! Ergo the needs of the unborn are not the same, and unless she intends to abort, she would be actively bringing into the world a child who has been damaged in utero. The foetus is not merely 'a part of the woman' otherwise it would be affected like her and I personally think it is irresponsible modern feminism to pretend that the foetus is indistinguishable from the mother.

Now, this doesn't mean that abortions can be a better idea than carrying through to term, although such a situation should always be considered sad.

All I mean is to say that from the very beginning, the foetus, although dependent on the mother, is a separate entity. And certainly not, as some vile people do, a 'parasite'.

I guess what I mean is that the needs of a foetus are not above or below that of the mother, but they are separate. Thankfully, the vast majority of women are level headed and not selfish.

In my views, it's the mother's body first. Period. Once the baby leaves the mother's body, then that's when things change. Anything else infringes on the mother's rights, in my opinion.

For instance, take this story:

Burton was in her 25th week of pregnancy in March 2009 when she began to go into premature labor and willingly went to the hospital on the advice of her doctor.


But when the 26-year-old resisted -- learning that she might have to stay months until her delivery, away from two toddlers at home -- hospital officials obtained a court order to force Burton to submit to anything to "preserve the life and health of [her] unborn child."

This quote from the same article says it all:

"Women do not give up their right to determine the course of their own medical care when they become pregnant," said Diana Kasdan, staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. "Faced with similar cases, courts throughout the country have made clear that pregnant women have a right to make decisions about their own health, including refusing medical care."

I did agree when you said this:

Thankfully, the vast majority of women are level headed and not selfish.

And I think we need to trust in this rather than impeding on a woman's rights during pregnancy. Especially if impeding on those rights lands her in jail while the father remains free of such unfair testing.

[Briton]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

In my views, it's the mother's body first. Period. Once the baby leaves the mother's body, then that's when things change. Anything else infringes on the mother's rights, in my opinion.

We each have an opinion. I am vindicated, however, by the fact my wife shares this view and frankly that's all that matters.

And I think we need to trust in this rather than impeding on a woman's rights during pregnancy. Especially if impeding on those rights lands her in jail while the father remains free of such unfair testing.

I guess because the father's drug use does not directly impact the foetus' healthcare. Just a thought. That doesn't mean it's OK, but whether the father smokes weed or not has virtually no impact on the pregnancy.

[SleepingCompass]

Re: Alabama hospitals secretly drug testing mothers

guess because the father's drug use does not directly impact the foetus' healthcare. Just a thought. That doesn't mean it's OK, but whether the father smokes weed or not has virtually no impact on the pregnancy.

I think you're forgetting about second hand smoke.