Iowa hospitals must stop unlawful drug testing after births

Rachel Manuel Bruns
·2 min read

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 ruling in 2001 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).”

Instead of following Iowa code, many Iowa hospitals have implemented their own set of criteria for drug testing newborns without parental consent. Some of these criteria include: If the birthing person has been a victim of domestic violence, does not have custody of one or more children, has had an out of hospital birth or free birth, has suffered placental abruption, has physical attributes of abuse, or has an unassisted birth.

Emily and Michael Donlin sit with their sons Paul (left) and Walter (right) Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Des Moines. The Donlin family was subject to a non-consensual drug test after the birth of their second child. The test came back positive for cocaine, and the family was reported to Child Protective Services. The family claims the test results were a false positive and neither parent has taken any illicit substances. Recently, a county judge dismissed the case with CPS.

For the Donlin family, a false positive drug test of their newborn led to a distressing eight-month ordeal with Iowa Child Protective Services. Having an unplanned, unassisted home birth is not a demonstration of "physical or behavioral symptoms" of drug use, as required by Iowa law, to justify testing the Donlin newborn without consent, nor is it following the Iowa Neonatal Quality Collaborative Guidelines for newborn assessment.

Iowa hospitals and the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services need to get their act together and stop unlawful drug testing of mothers and their newborns. Unlawfully testing for reasons outside of federal law or state code is a violation of civil liberties that harms families, often results in discriminatory practices, and directs taxpayer resources away from the children and families that may actually need support and intervention.

Rachel Manuel Bruns
Rachel Manuel Bruns

Rachel Manuel Bruns lives in Des Moines with her partner and two children. Rachel works as chief engagement officer of America's Service Commissions and is a maternal health advocate and volunteer chapter leader for the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) of Central Iowa. Contact: rachel.m.bruns@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa hospitals must stop unlawful drug testing after births