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Pregnant Women

An illustration shows a police officer in a blue uniform standing inside a dimly lit kitchen holding a walkie-talkie while looking outside the window. Outside the window, a woman is kneeling, with pale yellow light on her as she looks at a small grave.
News April 2
These States Have Investigated Miscarriages and Stillbirths as Crimes
A recent arrest in Georgia highlights the criminal suspicion that surrounds pregnancy loss in several states, experts say.
By
A White female doctor, wearing glasses, a gray jacket and blue scrubs, sits at her desk. Papers of children's hand drawings hang on the wall.
Feature April 2
Why Some Doctors Are Pushing to End Routine Drug Testing During Childbirth
Hospitals routinely report parents to child welfare authorities based on error-prone drug tests. Some hospitals are changing policy as a result.
By
A photo of a White woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a blue dress posing with her daughter, who is wearing a striped pastel dress and a bow in her blond hair. The woman and her daughter are sitting in a child’s room.
Feature December 12, 2024
Facing Decades in Prison, a Mississippi Mother Defied a Prosecutor and a Hazy Legal Theory
A prosecutor had been threatening mothers who used drugs while pregnant with long sentences — until Brandy Moore fought the case against her.
By Anna Wolfe
A White woman, wearing glasses and a red dress, sits at the front door of her house. One of her children stands behind her inside. A children's bike is stationed on the right side of the door.
Feature December 11, 2024
Hospitals Gave Patients Meds During Childbirth, Then Reported Them For Positive Drug Tests
Mothers were reported after they were given medications used routinely for pain or in epidurals, to reduce anxiety or to manage blood pressure during cesarean sections.
By
An illustration shows a police officer standing inside of a dark, blue and green kitchen holding a walkie-talkie while looking outside the window. Outside the window, a woman is kneeling, with bright yellow light on her as she looks at a small grave.
Feature October 31, 2024
Some States Are Turning Miscarriages and Stillbirths Into Criminal Cases Against Women
How a person handles a pregnancy loss — and where it occurs — can be the difference between a private medical issue and facing criminal charges.
By
A person wearing a blue uniform and black messenger bag walks toward the entrance of a hospital with a blue sign that reads, "Virtua Health Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital."
Closing Argument October 5, 2024
Drug Testing of Pregnant Patients Is Discriminatory, Lawsuit Claims
The Marshall Project recently investigated how faulty drug tests at hospitals lead to pregnant women being reported to authorities and at times separated from their children.
By
Susan Horton, a White woman wearing a black tank top, arranges her children’s toys on top of a table.
Feature September 9, 2024
She Ate a Poppy Seed Salad Just Before Giving Birth. Then They Took Her Baby Away.
Hospitals use drug tests that return false positives from poppy seed bagels, decongestants and Zantac. Yet newborns are being taken from parents based on the results.
By
Three items are arranged on a white surface: a salad in a white bowl, a copy of a sonogram, and a printout of positive drug test results.
News September 7, 2024
You’re About to Deliver Your Baby. This Faulty Drug Test Could Take Your Newborn Away.
Listen to our investigation into how hospitals use unreliable test results to report parents to child welfare agencies.
By The Marshall Project
Jules Werkheiser, a White person wearing a leather jacket, with her wife, Samantha, a White woman wearing a blue floral dress, and their son, Julius.
Life Inside July 19, 2024
Love Beyond Bars: Jules and Samantha
Jules and Samantha Werkheiser fought their wrongful convictions for over a decade. Here’s their journey of survival — and motherhood — in pictures.
Photographs by Camille Farrah Lenain
As-told-to by
A White woman, wearing a white tank top and a label that reads "Forced motherhood is female enslavement," yells while holding a sign that reads, "Stop the war on bodily autonomy." People are protesting in the background.
Closing Argument June 1, 2024
How Abortion’s Legal Landscape Post-Roe is Causing Fear and Confusion
We spoke with seven reproductive rights organizations — here’s what we found.
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