Did you know that pregnant women are being subjected to medical tests—many of which are not clinically necessary—without their knowledge or against their will?
Hospitals, medical professionals, and hospital staff often act as agents of the state—interrogating pregnant patients, conducting unwanted or unnecessary medical tests, and reporting results to law enforcement. These unconstitutional actions occur without a search warrant and, in some cases, without any accusation of wrongdoing. The pregnant woman may not even know that tests were conducted until police or social workers arrive.
Similarly, hospitals conduct medical tests on infants without consulting or obtaining permission from the mother or other parent. The results of these nonconsensual tests have been used to justify removing infants from their mothers and for charging mothers with domestic violence, child endangerment, or neglect—without requiring any proof of harm to the infant.
Healthcare environments are turning into crime scenes.
In more than half of the prosecutions documented in Pregnancy as a Crime, information obtained through involuntary medical testing or disclosed in a healthcare setting was used as evidence of a crime. This practice not only violates privacy but also discourages pregnant people from seeking medical care for fear of criminal repercussions.
Our 2025 grantee partner, Pregnancy Justice, is fighting to ensure that pregnant people are guaranteed equal access to safe and confidential medical care.