• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Eat a Bagel, Lose Your Baby

Cold Highway

Dispenser of Negativity
DP Veteran
Joined
May 30, 2007
Messages
9,595
Reaction score
2,739
Location
Newburgh, New York and World 8: Dark Land
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Libertarian
The ACLU of Pennsylvania recently filed a civil rights lawsuit on behalf of a couple whose newborn baby was kidnapped by Lawrence County Children and Youth Services (LCCYS) because her mother recklessly consumed an "everything" bagel from Dunkin' Donuts the day before the birth. Jameson Hospital, where Isabella Rodriguez was born on April 27, has a policy of testing expectant mothers' urine for illegal drugs and reporting positive results to LCCYS, even without any additional evidence that the baby is in danger of neglect or abuse. LCCYS, in turn, has a policy of seizing such babies from their homes based on nothing more than the test result. Unfortunately for Isabella's parents, Elizabeth Mort and Alex Rodriguez, Jameson sets the cutoff level for its opiate test so low that it can be triggered by poppy seeds, which is why two caseworkers and two Neshannock Township police officers visited their home the day after baby and mother returned from the hospital. LCCYS seized the three-day-old girl and put her in foster care for five days before conceding it had made a mistake.

****ing bull****!

Eat a Bagel, Lose Your Baby - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine
 
Yeah, they need to find a way to calibrate those tests better to account for poppy seeds.
 
over-zealous retards.
 
We need to add urine test refusal to the Bill of Rights. If your own pee doesn't belong to you, what does?
 
On the other hand, what's the alternative? Let women who abuse drugs during-- and presumably after-- pregnancy keep their children? I hardly see how that's better.
 
On the other hand, what's the alternative? Let women who abuse drugs during-- and presumably after-- pregnancy keep their children? I hardly see how that's better.

this is not an either or situation. any retard should have been able to tell that this woman was not abusing drugs. if they are going to scan everyone who has a kid...at least set the detection limits to a reasonable level.
 
this is not an either or situation. any retard should have been able to tell that this woman was not abusing drugs.

How, by looking at her? You can't always tell, and she pissed hot for opiates.

if they are going to scan everyone who has a kid...at least set the detection limits to a reasonable level.

That's reasonable, and I hope in the future that they adjust the calibration of the tests. But remember, if they set the limit high enough to avoid false positives, they're running the risk of false negatives and allowing women who do abuse drugs to keep their children.
 
On the other hand, what's the alternative? Let women who abuse drugs during-- and presumably after-- pregnancy keep their children? I hardly see how that's better.

Set the limit higher to take poppy seeds into account, they don't have nearly as much of the active ingredient as opium. A similar thing is done with alcohol. If you're driving under 21 and if the cops catch you with a single drink in your system, you lose your license, but the B.A.L. is a little more than 0 to take into account things like mouth wash. This should be done as well as basing their decision on more substantial evidence of significant and prolonged abuse than on a single drug test.
 
Last edited:
But remember, if they set the limit high enough to avoid false positives, they're running the risk of false negatives and allowing women who do abuse drugs to keep their children.

Most opiates cause pretty severe dependence, so the vast majority of users are using enough that it would be hard to mistake their use for poppy seeds.
 
Back
Top Bottom