PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Echoes of 'Motherisk' the disastrous defunct hair and drug testing lab at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto that caused babies to seized from innocent mothers - and children to be put up for adoption) most likely never to be returned to their natural parents) by the children's aid societies. The lab process was terribly flawed - and the parents were denied fair process. A huge blot - one of far too many - on Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. Cherrell Harrington's tragic experience crystal out for a independent, public inquiry into Allegheny County and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, to determine if others have suffered similar experiences - and to prevent them from happening in the future.
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Harrington, meanwhile, said she feels violated and traumatized, and does not feel safe returning to seek post-cesarean treatment. “I would like for them to acknowledge that they have hurt many women and children and ruined experiences when they shouldn’t have the power to do that,” she told AP. “We were there to deliver our children,” Harrington said. “And what they did was so traumatizing and so hurtful. I can’t get that birth, I can’t get those days back. I can’t. I want them to change what they are doing and just stop it. Harrington is not the first patient to push back against such measures. At UPMC the same thing happened to Rachael Devore in 2014, AP said, adding that she settled her lawsuit. Similar complaints, including lawsuits, have also surfaced in New York, California, Alabama, Maryland and other states, AP noted, “after mothers say they received unconfirmed or false positive results from eating poppy seed bagels or salad dressing, taking doctor-approved Valium, and using prescribed asthma inhalers.”
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STORY: "Mother sues Pittsburgh hospital for false-positive drug test during labor that led to child abuse probe, by reporter Theresa Braine, published by New York Daily News on March 11, 2020. (Theresa Braine has written breaking news for the New York Daily News National Desk since November 2018, with an emphasis on environmental reporting and indigenous issues. She has worked as a freelance foreign correspondent based in Mexico City and has been a copy editor and copy chief for various national magazines.)
GIST: "A western Pennsylvania mother is suing the hospital where she gave birth after it ran a drug test without her consent that generated a false positive and sparked a baseless child abuse probe, a lawsuit says. In a seven-count civil lawsuit against Allegheny County and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Cherrell Harrington alleges that the hospital not only screened her for drugs without her knowledge but also handed the “questionable test results” to child services, initiating an investigation. The information provided to Allegheny County Children, Youth and Families made her the target of “highly intrusive, humiliating and coercive child abuse allegations,” including “multiple home inspections,” according to the lawsuit, cited by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The suit claims the plaintiffs violated Harrington’s First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, 14th Amendment rights, as well as doctor-patient confidentiality, the Post-Gazette said. Harrington said she was never told they were taking a urine sample, let alone testing it for drugs, western Pennsylvania news site Trib Live reported. When it returned an “unconfirmed positive” for marijuana, a hospital social worker visited her in the hospital to tell her she was being investigated for that and child abuse, even though her baby had tested negative and the results are not deemed credible evidence, Trib Live said. She was also mandated to undergo drug counseling or be drug-tested for a longer period of time. When a second test came back negative, she was let off the hook for further counseling. They also questioned her preteen daughter, the lawsuit said. The hospital said it was just following procedure and state law. “UPMC clinicians make informed decisions regarding screening and drug testing for new mothers and newborns,” UPMC spokeswoman Amy Charley told the Associated Press. “UPMC follows Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law, which mandates health care professionals to report these findings to the Pennsylvania Office of Children, Youth and Family Services.” Allegheny County had similar reasons, with Department of Human Services Children, Youth and Families division deputy director Jacki Hoover telling AP that there’s a mandated process they must follow that includes an interview and an assessment of the home and children’s safety. Harrington, meanwhile, said she feels violated and traumatized, and does not feel safe returning to seek post-cesarean treatment. “I would like for them to acknowledge that they have hurt many women and children and ruined experiences when they shouldn’t have the power to do that,” she told AP. “We were there to deliver our children,” Harrington said. “And what they did was so traumatizing and so hurtful. I can’t get that birth, I can’t get those days back. I can’t. I want them to change what they are doing and just stop it. Harrington is not the first patient to push back against such measures. At UPMC the same thing happened to Rachael Devore in 2014, AP said, adding that she settled her lawsuit. Similar complaints, including lawsuits, have also surfaced in New York, California, Alabama, Maryland and other states, AP noted, “after mothers say they received unconfirmed or false positive results from eating poppy seed bagels or salad dressing, taking doctor-approved Valium, and using prescribed asthma inhalers.” Named in the same lawsuit as Harrington’s – which attorneys are seeking class action status for – is Deserae Cook, whose newborn daughter was tested, along with her, after she was upfront about having smoked marijuana in the past. “It was like a kick in the stomach,” Cooke told AP. “What’s the reasoning? It felt embarrassing and humiliating. It felt like they were tying to find something, trying to take our child away.”
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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