New York lawmakers are pushing a new safeguard for pregnant people and new parents, taking aim at secret hospital drug tests that can trigger Child Protective Services investigations without patients ever knowing they were screened.
The Maternal Health, Dignity and Consent Act would bar hospitals and clinicians from running drug, cannabis or alcohol tests on pregnant people, people up to one year postpartum, and newborns without prior informed consent, except in medical emergencies. The proposal, carried as A.860 in the Assembly and S.845 in the Senate, would require both oral and written authorization for biological tests and verbal drug screens in hospital settings. Supporters say the bill is designed to shut down quiet "test-and-report" practices that push people away from prenatal and postpartum care.
What the bill would do
Under the measure, health care professionals could not use biological drug tests, such as urine or hair samples, or verbal screening tools on pregnant and postpartum patients or on newborns unless two things are true, according to Assembly bill A.860 filed with the New York State Senate. First, the patient or the person authorized to consent for the newborn would have to give specific oral and written informed consent. Second, the test would have to be part of the medical care being provided.
The bill treats hospital and non-hospital settings differently for written versus oral consent and allows testing without consent only when an emergency makes getting consent unsafe or would dangerously delay treatment. Consent documents would also need to spell out the medical purpose of the test, explain limits of confidentiality and explicitly warn that a positive result could come with legal consequences.
Who’s backing it
Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal is sponsoring the bill in the Assembly and Senator Julia Salazar is carrying it in the upper chamber, according to the Senate filing for S.845 on the New York State Senate site. Advocacy groups including The Bronx Defenders have lined up behind the legislation, arguing it protects bodily autonomy and reins in racially disparate surveillance of pregnant and parenting people.
The Bipartisan Pro-Choice Legislative Caucus has also placed the bill on its 2026 priorities list, a signal that reproductive-rights lawmakers across party lines are paying attention.
Why supporters say it matters
Backers of the bill say nonconsensual "test-and-report" practices are not just invasive, they are also unevenly enforced. They argue that Black, Latine and Indigenous families are more likely to be targeted for these screenings and more likely to face resulting Child Protective Services involvement. That, advocates warn, discourages people from seeking prenatal and postpartum care in the first place, which can worsen maternal-health outcomes.
Physicians for Reproductive Health has circulated a policy memo that lays out what it calls the medical, legal and ethical harms of routine, nonconsensual testing. An opinion piece in City & State by lawmakers and advocates highlights New York City hospitals that already use consent policies and points to steep drops in Child Protective Services referrals after those requirements were put in place. Supporters cite that trend as evidence that consent rules can keep families together without putting children at risk.
Legal and medical implications
The bill spells out that consent forms must include plain-language notices that a positive test could have legal consequences, including a possible report to local child protective services, and advises that patients may want to consult an attorney. That language is drawn directly from the bill text filed with the New York State Senate.
Clinicians would be barred from refusing to treat someone who says no to a test. If a provider performs an emergency test without consent, they would have to document in writing why they did it and why consent could not safely be obtained, requirements that are also laid out in the legislative text. Advocates say those safeguards are aimed at cutting back on surveillance-driven family separations while keeping people engaged in medical care.
Next steps in Albany
The Maternal Health, Dignity and Consent Act was formally filed in January and sent to the health committees, where lawmakers are weighing hearings and possible amendments. The renewed push for the bill was reported on April 22 by Crain's New York Business.
To make it to the governor’s desk, the legislation still has to clear committee votes in both chambers and win approval in the full Assembly and Senate. If that happens, supporters say the law would create a statewide baseline for consent and bring hospitals across New York into closer alignment with existing Department of Health guidance.
Backers describe the measure as modest extra paperwork for hospitals and high-impact reassurance for pregnant people who fear punishment for seeking care. Advocates at groups such as The Bronx Defenders say they plan to keep pressing for swift passage in an effort to shrink racial disparities in maternal care statewide.
