T.H., NATURAL MOTHER OF T.H., A CHILD, APPELLANT,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1995-10-18
No. 95-531
WOLF, WEBSTER and VAN NORTWICK, JJ., concur.
661 So. 2d 403 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1995)

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

A mother of a cocaine-dependent infant adjudicated dependent challenged a trial court order requiring bi-monthly pregnancy testing as a condition of dependency case supervision. The First District Court of Appeal reversed the pregnancy testing requirement, holding that Chapter 39, Florida Statutes does not grant trial courts the authority to order such testing, while affirming the dependency adjudication and other aspects of the disposition order.


Holding

The trial court lacks statutory authority to require pregnancy testing. While Chapter 39 grants broad powers to protect the welfare of dependent children, it does not expressly grant or authorize trial courts to order pregnancy testing of parents. The court reversed the pregnancy testing requirement but affirmed the dependency adjudication and other aspects of the disposition order.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court lacks statutory authority to order a parent to undergo pregnancy testing in a dependency proceeding.

[2] A trial court's broad powers to protect a child's welfare in a dependency case do not extend to ordering pregnancy testing of the parent.

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“Chapter 39 does not grant, and we have not been directed to any state statute which would so grant, the trial court the power to order the mother of the dependent child to undergo the challenged pregnancy testing.”

The core holding establishing that trial courts lack statutory authority to order pregnancy testing in dependency cases.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

T.H. was the mother of an infant daughter adjudicated dependent by the trial court. This was T.H.'s third cocaine-dependent child. The trial court ord…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Appellant, T.H., the mother of an infant daughter who was adjudicated dependent by the trial court under Chapter 39, Part III, section 39.40, et seq., Florida Statutes (1993), appeals the adjudication/disposition order entered in the dependency proceeding which, among other things, requires the mother to undergo bi-monthly pregnancy testing. Because the trial court has not been granted the power to require pregnancy testing, we reverse that portion of the order. We affirm the order in all other respects.

T.H.’s infant daughter was her third cocaine dependent child. The trial court explained that the purpose of the pregnancy testing, which was to be conducted in conjunction with urinalysis for the purposes of drug testing,1 was to identify a pregnancy so that the court could take steps to ensure that no more drug-exposed children would be born to appellant. The trial court indicated that, in the event appellant tested positive for drugs and was determined to be pregnant, the trial court intended to place her in jail.

We share the trial court’s concern with the serious impacts of drug use during pregnancy. Fetal exposure to drugs is a matter of great public and legal concern.2 Nevertheless, while Part III of Chapter 39, Florida Statutes, provides the trial court with broad powers to protect the welfare of the minor child in a dependency ease, see, In the Interest of J.R.T., 427 So. 2d 251, 252 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983), Chapter 39 does not grant, and we have not been directed to any state statute which would so grant, the trial cotut the power to order the mother of the dependent child to undergo the challenged pregnancy testing.3 See, In the Interest of J.P., 586 So. 2d 485 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991) (trial court did not have statutory authority to require HRS to pay child’s medical expenses); Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services v. Cole, 574 So. 2d 160, 163 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990) (trial court lacked statutory authority to require HRS to pay fees of attorney of guardian ad litem). Accordingly, we reverse that provision of the trial court’s order which requires T.H. to undergo pregnancy testing. Appellant’s remaining arguments are without merit or were waived in the proceeding below and will not be addressed.

REVERSED, in part, and AFFIRMED, in part, and REMANDED.

WOLF, WEBSTER and VAN NORTWICK, JJ., concur. . Appellant consented to the urinalysis requirement.

. See e,g., Johnson v. State, 578 So. 2d 419 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991), quashed, 620 So. 2d 1288 (Fla. 1992); Deborah Appel, Drug Use During Pregnancy: State Strategies to Reduce the Prevalence of Prenatal Drug Exposure, 5 U.Fla.J.L. & Pub. Pol’y 103 (1992); Dorothy E. Roberts, Punishing Drug Addicts Who Have Babies: Women of Color, Equality and the Right of Privacy, 104 Harv. L.Rev., 1419 (1991); Michael T. Flannery, Court-Ordered Prenatal Intervention: A Final Means To The End Of Gestational Substance Abuse, 30 J.Fam.L., 519 (1991/1992); D. McGinnis, Prosecution of Mothers of Drug-Exposed Babies: Constitutional and Criminal Theory, 139 U.Pa.L.Rev., 505 (1990); Note, Rethinking (M)otherhood: Feminist Theory and State Regulation of Pregnancy, 103 Harv.L.Rev., 1325 (1990).

.We find it unnecessary to address any constitutional issues relating to the pregnancy testing requirement.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw