ACLU: Poppy Seeds Led to Drug-Related Baby Seizure
The American Civil Liberties Union is representing a western Pennsylvania woman who says her newborn baby was seized by county welfare workers after she failed a drug test because she ate a poppy seed bagel.
ACLU attorney Sara Rose said Lawrence County Children and Youth Services officials came to Elizabeth Mort's home three days after she gave birth at Jameson Hospital in New Castle last month. A state law allows hospitals to give blood tests to protect newborns from mothers who may be abusing drugs.
Rose says the hospital and welfare workers rushed to judgment without thoroughly investigating. Heroin is made from poppies and eating the seeds has been known to cause false positive drug results.
The hospital says it is comparing its procedures to other hospitals. The baby has since been returned.
- Article from the Associated Press.
