|
|
From June 2001 NASW NEWS Testing of Pregnant Women Banned
Drug use alone isn't sufficient for a warrantless search. The U.S. Supreme Court in March ruled that mandating arrests of pregnant women who test positive for drug use at a Charleston, S.C., hospital is a violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition against nonconsensual, warrantless and suspicionless searches. NASW had signed a friend-of-the-court brief opposing the arrest policy [November 2000 NEWS]. In the case, Ferguson v. City of Charleston, the court was asked to decide if a diagnostic test to obtain evidence of a patient's criminal conduct for law enforcement purposes was an unreasonable search if the patient had not consented and, more narrowly, whether using the threat of criminal sanctions to deter pregnant women from using cocaine can justify a departure from the general rule that an official, nonconsensual search is unconstitutional if not authorized by a valid warrant. Although drug abuse is a serious problem, that alone is insufficient justification for warrantless searches, said the court. In banning the practice, the high court overturned a Court of Appeals decision in favor of the Charleston hospital. Back to NASW NEWS Contents
|
 |
