Pregnancy should never be treated as a crime. Yet for too many Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-income parents, pregnancy becomes a site of punishment — especially when drug use is involved.
The report Drug Tests Are Not Parenting Tests, created by Movement for Family Power in collaboration with Informed Consent Campaign NYC, Bloom Collective, Reimagine Child Safety California, the Drug Policy Alliance, and others, calls for an end to punitive drug testing and “family policing” practices that separate families under the guise of protection.
This resource helps us understand how drug testing — often done without consent — has become a modern-day tool of surveillance. Hospitals and state agencies frequently use test results to justify family separation, even when no harm has occurred. The report reframes what real safety and care can look like for pregnant and parenting people who use drugs, highlighting the need for informed consent, reproductive justice, and racial equity.
Inside the report you’ll find:
- A deep look at how the “family regulation system” evolved from segregationist welfare policies.
- Evidence showing how drug testing during pregnancy disproportionately targets Black, Brown, and low-income families.
- Policy recommendations for ending “test and report” practices that criminalize care.
- A roadmap for legislators and healthcare providers to support autonomy, informed consent, and harm reduction.
At its heart, Drug Tests Are Not Parenting Tests reminds us that substance use and parenting are not mutually exclusive — and that dignity, consent, and community care must guide all health and family policy decisions.
This report is a must-read for:
- Healthcare professionals seeking to practice without harm or bias
- Policymakers committed to reproductive and racial justice
- Advocates working to end the family regulation system and the War on Drugs
When we reimagine support instead of surveillance, we move closer to a world where families can stay whole and every parent can care for their child without fear.
