The night before Susan Horton gave birth to her daughter, she was already in premature labor and wanted something quick and easy for dinner.
She ate a frozen pizza from the fridge and an “everything” salad kit from Costco. She remembers how delicious the salad was and how the poppy seeds crunched in her mouth.
The next day, the 39-year-old gave birth at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Santa Rosa. But instead of bringing Halle, a healthy newborn, when a nurse came to the room, Horton said her urine had tested positive for opiates and she couldn’t take the baby home. I told him.
Horton was stunned. “Is that really my urine?” she recalled asking the nurse. She had no idea how that would add anything. It wasn’t until much later that Ms. Houghton and her family began to suspect that the poppy seeds in her salad were responsible for her positive drug test, and that Ms. Houghton was a qualified mother. A traumatic battle with authorities began to prove that he was not a drug user. .
The hospital has launched an investigation into the incident.
“It was devastating for our family,” Horton said.
This incident that occurred in 2022 has recently been reveal the news The Marshall Project is one of several cases of parents losing custody of their children after being turned over to Child Protective Services due to inaccurate drug tests.
The incident began during the pandemic, when Horton skipped some prenatal appointments because she lives with high-risk people and doesn’t want them to risk contracting COVID-19. It started with a choice. When she arrived at Kaiser Hospital to give birth, staff questioned her about missing her due date and asked if she was willing to provide a urine sample, to which she complied. She doesn’t remember asking if they could test her urine for drugs.
Once the test results came back, hospital staff told Horton that she would need to file a report with Child Protective Services. Mr Horton asked if he could take another urine test, but was told that the second test would not invalidate the first test.
Eventually, Horton discovered that her urine tested positive for codeine, an opioid painkiller commonly used in cough medicine. Although Horton was not taking cough medicine, health officials said ingesting poppy seed products could result in a positive result for morphine, codeine, or both, as drug tests are more sensitive. states. Horton recalled that the Costco salad she ate the night before giving birth was full of poppy seeds.
Later that day, Child Protective Services officials arrived at the hospital to speak with Horton and her husband. Horton recalled being asked about parenting and other children. Officials also asked Horton to sign a written agreement between CPS and parents on how dangerous situations would be handled. Horton refused.
“I chose not to sign because it felt like I was admitting guilt,” she told the Times. “I’m not guilty and I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Houghton was then given a document stating that Halle was not safe with her husband in their custody and would be taken away. Halle also had to stay at Kaiser for an additional five days to be monitored for drug withdrawal symptoms. Horton chose to stay with her.
Horton’s mother-in-law was given temporary custody of Halle, and the family left the hospital ahead of a court hearing scheduled for two days later. Horton said her mother-in-law lived about five minutes away from Santa Rosa, so she was able to visit and care for the newborn.
In court, Horton and her husband were asked if they would take another drug test, but the results were negative. CPS officers also visited the home and observed the children. At a second court hearing, a judge dismissed the case, and Horton’s baby was returned to her custody about two weeks after birth.
“All I wanted to do was go home to my husband and kids,” Horton said.
Horton said she is angry at Kaiser’s response and her family plans to switch insurance. Her husband also complained to Kaiser about the ordeal. The hospital said it would investigate the incident, but Horton has not responded to the results.
“We were really traumatized because I was treated as if I was guilty instead of innocent until proven guilty,” she added.
