Poppy seed bagels lead to false-positive drug tests -- and a civil rights fight

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https://newjerseymonitor.com/2023/03/13/poppy-seed-bagels-lead-to-false-positive-drug-tests-and-a-civil-rights-fight/

Poppy seed bagels lead to false-positive drug tests — and a civil rights fight

Laboring moms say two hospitals drug-tested them without consent

BY: DANA DIFILIPPO - MARCH 13, 2023 7:10 AM

Kate L. has filed a civil rights complaint against Hackensack University Medical Center, claiming workers there drug-testing her without her knowledge or consent when she gave birth to her daughter in 2022. (Photo by Ben Bowens Photography, courtesy of ACLU-NJ)

Two women have filed civil rights complaints against hospitals in Hackensack and Voorhees, alleging workers drug-tested them without their knowledge or consent after they went there to give birth.

The tests resulted in false positives that prompted both hospitals to alert child welfare authorities, who then monitored each family for months even though there was no evidence of drug use or other wrongdoing, according to separate complaints filed last week.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey represents both women in the complaints filed with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights against Hackensack University Medical Center and Virtua Voorhees Hospital.

Molly Linhorst, an ACLU-NJ staff attorney, said unwarranted, nonconsensual drug tests discriminate against women and pregnant people, and she called for an end to such testing practices. With two cases just a month apart in opposite regions of the state, Linhorst said she suspects the practice is widespread.

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[reymega life]

1. that ole Seinfeld episode