Page A3
M arch 28, 2001
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Ruling Protects Pregnant Women Against Drug Tests
B> L aurie A sseo
A ssociated P ress
WASHINGTON— Hospitals can
not test pregnant women for drugs
without their consent and turn the
results over to police, the Supreme
Court ruled last week in a decision
that bolstered the Constitution’s pro
te c tio n a g a in s t u n re a so n a b le
searches.
The 6-3 decision in the case o f
drug-testing by a South Carolina
public hospital said such testing vio
lates the Constitution even though
the goal was to prevent women from
harming their fetuses by using crack
cocaine.
Such tests require a search war
rant or consent, the justices said.
They ordered a lower court to deter
mine w hether the women at the
Charleston hospital actually con
sented to the tests.
“While the ultimate goal o f the
program may well have been to get
the women in question into sub
stance abuse treatment and off o f
drugs, the immediate objective o f the
searches was to generate evidence
for law enforcement purposes in or
der to reach that goal,” Justice John
Paul Stevens wrote for the court.
When hospitals gather evidence
for the purpose o f incriminating their
patients, “they have a special obliga
tion to make sure that the patients are
fully informed about their constitu
tional rights, as standards o f know
ing waiver require,” Stevens said.
Some women were arrested from
their hospital beds at the Medical
University o f South Carolina, a pub
lic hospital in Charleston. The women
were jailed under the state’s child-
endangerment law, but their lawyers
contended the policy was counter
productive and would deter women
from seeking prenatal care.
Stevens’ opinion was joined by
Justices Sandra Day O ’Connor, David
H. Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and
Stephen G. Breyer. Justice Anthony
M. Kennedy filed a separate opinion
also deciding the drug tests were
unlawful.
Dissenting were C hief Justice
William H. Rehnquist and Justices
Antonin Scalia and Clarence Tho
mas.
Writing for the three, Scalia said
doctors are supposed to have the
mother and child’s welfare in mind,
and “that they have in mind in addi
tion the provision o f evidence to the
police should make no difference.”
T he C o n s titu tio n ’s F o u rth
Amendment generally requires that
searches be authorized by a court
warrant or based on reasonable sus
picion that a crime has been commit
ted.
However, the Supreme Court has
allowed drug testing without a w ar
rant or individual suspicion when
the government can demonstrate a
dents and railroad workers involved
in accidents. W ednesday’s ruling
means that drug testing o f pregnant
“special need.” Under this reason
ing, the court has authorized such
testing o f public high school stu
women without their consent to pro
tect fetuses cannot be considered a
“special need.”
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Team Battles Fraud in Disability Claims
Portland
Community
College
Classes s ta r t th e w e e k o f A p r il 2
Videotapes show people who claimed they were disabled doing
routine things, such as shopping or building a fence
(AP) - A team o f federal and state
officials cracking down on disability
claim fraud say they saved taxpayers
$7.5 million last year.
“Anybody w ho’s thinking about
faking a disability, our message is
simple - think again,” said Bobby
Simpson, vocational rehabilitation
division administrator for the Oregon
Department o f Human Resources.
At a news conference Thursday,
Simpson showed three videotapes o f
people who claimed they were dis
abled doing routine things, such as
shopping or building a fence.
One woman who claimed she was
confined to a wheelchair was video
taped loading up her chair with house
hold items from a pickup truck, and
then pulling the chair up the stairs o f
a house.
A man who claimed he was con
fined to bed or a wheelchair was taped
building a fence, and another man
seen hobbling to his doctor’s office
with a cane was later taped walking
normally into a store to shop and
College Thai Fits Your
emerging with his purchases no
cane in sight.
Simpson joined Dennis Lynch, a
special agent with the Social Security
Administration’s Office o f the Inspec
tor General, and Charles Gorder, an
assistant U.S. attorney forOregon, to
announce the joint state-federal team
results for last year.
Oregon is the first statewide team
because federal agents paired with
the Oregon State Police, giving them
jurisdiction to pursue fraudulent
claims across the entire state.
Lynch emphasized the vast major
ity o f disability claims are legitimate,
but the relative handful o f fraudulent
cases cost millions o f dollars.
Lynch said most cases are not
prosecuted because the fraudulent
claims are denied or halted before
they become too costly, but investi
gators are pushing hard to take major
fraud cases to court. Those convicted
could face up to 10 years in a federal
prison for theft o f government prop
erty.
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The Doctor's Corner
It’s Time to Move On
Dear John,
I’m 25-year-old female who has
been involved with “Ben” for the
past nine months. From the start,
Ben made it clear that he wasn’t
looking for a relationship. On the
other hand, I fell in love with him.
We saw each other exclusively.
Once I admitted my feelings, Ben
pulled away from me. We had the
“let’s just be friends” conversa
tion, then he told me he didn’t want
me in his life at all.
The problem is that when I see
him at school or in a public place,
Ben is the one who approaches me
with kisses or says things that
confuse me as to how he really
feels. When is it time to walk away,
even if your heart doesn’t want to?
Is it possible to remain friends in
the aftermath?
Tired of endings and beginnings
in Portland
find yourself. Write your thoughts
down in a journal with the focus on
healing yourself We must fully
feel the grief from our losses.
Through the process of writing in
your journal you can open up hon
estly and put yourself in a better
position for your next relationship.
Remember, good endings clear the
way for good beginnings.
Make Your Life Outstanding!
Dear Tired,
Thanks for writing. It’s time to
smell the coffee and deal with your
losses.
Ben wants to move on, regard
less of any kindness that he may
show you when you meet in pub
lic.
It seems that he doesn’t feel the
same way you feel about him. It’s
time to move on and work on
dealing with your life. The first
thing you need to work on is your
boundaries with Ben. The second
thing is to work on loving yourself
again. It’s best not to date until you
By John Oda, Ph.D.
or The Portland Observer
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rformance Expert with 13 years
■jerience in the mental health field
d a regular featured writer fo r the
rtland Observer. I f you have any
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tail
your
question
to
ws(d>PortlandObserver.com
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