Lower Court Holding
Decision of the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
In the fall of 1989, Medical University of South Carolina [MUSC] instituted a policy providing for the testing of the urine of pregnant women suspected of cocaine use and for the reporting, under certain circumstances, of test results to law enforcement officials. The impetus behind the policy came from Nurse Shirley Brown, a case manager in the obstetrics department at MUSC. Brown was concerned about a perceived rise in cocaine use among pregnant women and the consequences for the health of the users’ children. Brown spoke with the General Counsel for MUSC, who in turn contacted the Ninth Circuit Solicitor…
