In Ferguson v. City of Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) developed a policy in conjunction with police and prosecutors that requires pregnant and post-pregnancy women to be tested for cocaine in their urine if they presented with certain factors. If the patient is still pregnant, her first positive test results in referral to a substance abuse program. After a second positive test, or upon failure to comply with the substance abuse program, the woman would be arrested. If a patient tested positive upon delivery of her baby, she would be arrested “as soon as medically possible.” A Solicitor’s Letter given to and signed by each woman after her first positive test explains these comequences. Concomitantly, a letter given to all patients receiving prenatal care informs them of the effects of drug use and warns of possible referral to the prosecutor’s office.
