Thread: Another US "War" Terrorizes Children

Pa. pair: Baby taken after bagel altered drug test


By JENNIFER C. YATES, Associated Press Jennifer C. Yates, Associated Press 27 mins ago –
PITTSBURGH – A Pennsylvania couple claims in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that their newborn was taken by county officials when a drug test the mother took came out positive because she had eaten a poppy seed bagel.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit on behalf of Elizabeth Mort and her fiance, Alex Rodriguez, against the Lawrence County Children and Youth Services and Jameson Health System.
The suit says the couple's 3-day-old daughter was taken from the couple's home and held for five days before authorities admitted they had made a mistake and returned the child.
Mort, 21, of New Castle said she was home with her baby, Isabella, on April 30 when a CYS caseworker arrived with an emergency protective custody order and took the baby away. The suit says the agency had no proof suggesting the baby might be in danger other than notice from Jameson Hospital that Mort had failed a drug test.
"Lawrence County Children & Youth Services ripped this couple's baby from them just three days after her birth," said Sara Rose, an attorney with the ACLU.
A woman who answered the phone at the CYU office referred calls to Director Jane Gajda, who she said was out of town and unavailable for comment until Friday. A spokeswoman at Jameson Health System didn't immediately return a call for comment.
Rose said Mort was never told in the hospital that she had failed a drug test, nor was she asked if she had eaten anything that could affect the test results. Also, neither the hospital nor CYS checked with Mort's doctor, who would have told them that two drug tests Mort took during her pregnancy were both negative.
"They would have realized that Liz never used any illegal drugs while she was pregnant and the only thing that she was guilty of was eating a poppy seed bagel shortly before being admitted to Jameson Hospital," Rose said.
The lawsuit alleges that three days after the baby was taken, CYS acknowledged they had made a mistake. Still, Isabella was not returned to her parents for two more days.
Holding the now 6-month-old Isabella at the ACLU office Thursday, Mort said she hopes the hospital changes their policy or does more investigation in the future so that this doesn't happen to another family.
"I was devastated. I just cried and cried and cried," said Mort, remembering when her daughter was taken from her. "I didn't want to let her go."

Jameson Health System has a policy in which they test all patients in the maternity ward for drugs, the suit says. But Rose said the level that determines whether a result is positive for illegal drugs is low and not the standard used by many other entities, including the federal government.
The suit alleges CYS violated the couple's rights to due process by not doing a better investigation before taking the baby and alleges the hospital was negligent by administering a test that was flawed, among other things.

This is what America gets for having a "War on drugs". The first casualties of war are always truth and due process. Taking a blood test in a hospital then sharing it with authorities without all three of consent, fairness and due process is so typically American these days. It's time the US abandoned its 1940's era war economy, militarism and politics.

This post has nothing to do with safe children. The woman was conclusively proven to be blameless. The issue is about an overbearing militaristic American assumption that every issue is a "deployment" and every action against a citizen is justified. America is no longer free, but too many Americans will not admit it until they can see 1930's and 1940's style totalitarianism. They won't. Every assault on human freedom is slightly different, and by the time it is historically familiar it is too late.

That actually chokes me up. And apart from your last paragraph, which is brilliant and extremely well stated, this is also very dangerous. There is no doubt in my mind that if someone had shown up at my house three days after my baby was born and told me they were taking my baby, I would have stopped them by force. Then probably the agent, maybe a police officer and definitely me would have been in danger of real injury, even death. A policeman called to help a government agent remove a child is not going to question the decision, he's going to do it... and use whatever force the behavior of the parent warrents to get the baby out. Right or wrong. Trust me, I've done it. Twice. Those were bad days.

Not hard to imagine someone killing or maiming to stop someone from taking their newborn baby away.

And just think... both our countries did this to Native mothers regularly... by the truckload... and in our own and our parent's lifetimes.... with no hope of ever seeing them again.