Newborn babies in Washington test positive for drugs higher than national average

A 2022 Washington State University (WSU) report revealed that babies born with NAS in Washington nearly double the national rate. More recent federal data has widened that gap, especially in Spokane County, which has been labeled an “area of heightened concern.” There, babies are born with NAS at a rate nearly three and a half times higher than the national average.

In 2023, Washington State enacted House Bill 1227, also known as the Keeping Families Together Act, a law aimed at reforming child welfare by prioritizing keeping children with their biological families. The legislation shifts focus away from removing children from homes due to issues like substance abuse or inadequate housing, unless there is imminent physical harm. While its intentions are rooted in family preservation and trauma reduction, the real-world consequences have sparked fierce debate across the state.

Critics argue that the law has inadvertently endangered children, particularly those born into households grappling with drug addiction and homelessness.

Dr. Eka Burduli, the principal investigator of the WSU report, said the findings reflect a deeper systemic failure. “We have too many families that are not getting the care they need and not getting the support they need, in this county and in the state,” she said.

Washington’s homelessness crisis compounds the issue. A 2024 congressional report ranked the state third in the nation for homelessness, trailing only New York and California. Research shows a strong correlation between substance abuse and homelessness, raising concerns about the practical implications of HB 1227 when applied to families facing both challenges. Because the law no longer considers substance abuse or unstable housing alone to be grounds for removing a child, critics warn that some children are being left in hazardous environments.

In response to the growing outcry, state Republicans introduced legislation that would classify the presence of illicit substances, such as fentanyl, in a household as “imminent harm,” thus mandating the immediate removal of children. The bill also proposed giving caseworkers tools like fentanyl test strips and risk assessment training.

However, this effort was blocked by state Democrats, who instead passed a stripped-down version, HB 2447. Critics, including Republican State Rep. Travis Couture, argue that the Democratic majority is prioritizing ideological commitments over child safety.

“Democrats have chosen this radical ideology of their drug ideology and their equity ideology over the lives of innocent children in our state,” Couture said in an interview with The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI. “Oftentimes...they're born addicted to fentanyl...I want to be able to take the keys away from those parents so we can help the parents get sober again.”

He cited grim statistics: in 2022, nearly 3,000 people in Washington died from drug overdoses — more than the total American deaths in Operation Enduring Freedom. “It’s like a 9/11…a mass casualty on our streets,” he said.

Couture was particularly critical of the state’s harm reduction efforts, calling them “coddling” and accusing the government of enabling drug use through taxpayer-funded services. “We just keep pouring down more services to the dark hole, and it causes harm,” he said. “Love and compassion for your fellow man is not giving them the tools to kill themselves.”

Last year, prosecutors claimed that the law contributed to the death of a one-month-old baby in Port Townsend, Washington, who was found dead in the bushes. The baby had been born with fentanyl in his system, and the state awarded temporary custody to the baby's father, who had passed initial drug tests but stopped complying with the state-ordered drug testing a few weeks later and disappeared with his baby. After authorities located him without his child, he eventually led police to the body, which he had hidden in the bushes.

The failed Democratic policy is also being blamed for the horrific murder of a 4-year-old boy whose mother allegedly stabbed the child “up to 41 times” during a vicious attack in Everett, WA. Police said in court documents that the mother killed her son and then checked herself into an alcohol rehabilitation center. The week before, the child's grandmother had petitioned for custody of the boy and told a court she had concerns about his safety while under his mother’s care because of her drug use. The grandmother said, “While she is on drugs, she is not capable of parenting. Her want for drugs and alcohol makes her leave for days at a time without notice. Luckily, since they live with me, I can step in when this happens. Her behavior has become very violent and unpredictable.”