New York City’s public hospitals will end a longstanding practice of drug testing pregnant patients without their explicit written consent, a policy that advocates say leads to unnecessary investigations and perpetuates racial disparities in the child welfare system.

The policy change comes as the city’s Commission on Human Rights also opens an investigation into three private hospitals to determine if there is evidence of racial bias in who is tested for substances and reported to child welfare authorities. WNYC's Sean Carlson and Yasmeen Khan discuss the changes.

Read the full story on Gothamist.com.