Hospital accused of experiments on pregnant women

A major American medical centre has been accused of violating the rights of its pregnant patients. The Medical University of South Carolina was accused last week of testing pregnant patients for drug use without their consent, collecting confidential information and turning it over to police, and conducting illegal experiments on humans.

The programme of drug testing began in 1989 to try to stop women from using drugs such as cocaine and heroin during pregnancy. Local government and hospital officials hoped that the threat of prison …