Drug Testing of Pregnant Women Raises Questions : Survey: Civil libertarians voice concern about the program, in which hospitals check urine samples of new mothers without their knowledge. Names won’t be used.

As Orange County hospitals prepare to initiate confidential drug testing of pregnant women--without their knowledge or consent--civil libertarians said Friday that they will monitor the program to ensure that it does not violate patients’ rights of privacy.

But survey sponsors responded to those concerns by pledging that the tests will be confidential and that results will only used to determine how many drug-addicted babies are being born in Orange County and what effects the babies suffer. In addition, the survey will help sponsors determine whether hospitals use the correct criteria in deciding which mothers need to be tested for drug use and whether treatment programs need to be enhanced.

“It’s not going to get back to who participated, and there’s no punitive measure with regard to the test,” March of Dimes Community Services Director Dorothy Andrews said. The March of Dimes, public health agencies and UCI Medical Center are jointly sponsoring the $10,000 program.

Although area hospital officials have previously estimated that at least 1,248 drug-exposed children were born in Orange County last year, officials expressed frustration at not knowing more precisely how widespread the problem is here.

“It (drug and alcohol abuse) is probably not as prevalent in Orange County as it might be in other counties, but you don’t know that,” said Thomas Garite, UCI’s chief researcher on the project.

The drug testing, to be conducted in 26 county hospitals during an unannounced seven-day period this fall, will be drawn from urine samples routinely taken from women when they enter the hospital. It is called a blind test because only the ZIP codes and the types of drugs used--not the women’s names--will be recorded. The 1,000 women expected to be included in the survey will not be told they are being tested for drugs.

Test results will be made public in four to six months, according to a UCI official.

While saying they recognize that a public health need could be addressed through the program, civil libertarians cautioned against using the tests to step up prosecutions of women who are addicted to alcohol or drugs.

“You may be forcing mothers who have drug addiction to be giving birth to these babies at home because of fear of retribution,” said Kris Adams-Charton, director of litigation for the Poverty Law Center in Santa Ana.

Under current state law, if a mother is suspected of drug abuse or the newborn shows symptoms, the mother can be administered a drug test. If that test is positive, hospital administrators are required to report the results to the county Department of Social Services. That law will not apply to the survey because the women’s names will not be used, officials said.

Rebecca Jurado, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, said she was researching whether the expectant mothers have a right to be told they are being surveyed.

“My concern is that they are not being told,” she said. “They are not being given the option to participate or not.”

But program officials said similar blind tests have been conducted successfully throughout the country.

“Given what we are really trying to do, which is get a benchmark for planning purposes for a variety of agencies--and given that total confidentiality is assured--the benefits outweigh any of the ethical and moral issues,” Orange County Drug Abuse Administrator Tim Mullins said.

The March of Dimes official said no residential treatment program exists in Orange County for drug-addicted pregnant women. Outpatient drug clinics, officials added, have long waiting lists.

“When I get calls from women who are in the early stages of pregnancy and they have used alcohol or cocaine, there’s no place to refer them,” Andrews said. “We want healthy children for our future.”

In addition to learning how many cases exist in Orange County, officials--using the ZIP codes--may be able to determine whether the problem crosses all ethnic and income groups.

A similar study conducted in Florida last year showed similar rates of substance abuse in blacks and whites. But a simultaneous review of public health records showed that black women were reported to authorities 10 times more often than white women.