The “lung float” test claims to help determine if a baby was born alive or dead, but many medical examiners say it’s too unreliable. Yet the test is still being used to bring murder charges — and get convictions.
e; added “in Multiple U.S. States” to the title
Source?
This is the full quote. “None of the 12 largest offices by jurisdiction expressed full-throated support for the test.” They didn’t state that the 12 largest offices were the ones who performed the tests. What you posted was taken out of context and given new context.
Here’s the surrounding context to give more insight. Nowhere did they state that these 12 offices who didn’t express support for the test are the ones who did the test.
" Cook County, home to Chicago, pathologists use it, but give more weight to “more reliable methods” including X-rays, microscopic examinations and autopsy findings to determine whether a birth was live or still. Others, like the Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, said the test may be useful only if a baby was not born into a toilet, CPR was not performed and decomposition was not present. None of the 12 largest offices by jurisdiction expressed full-throated support for the test.
And while the national organization that represents medical examiners said that it doesn’t have an official stance on the lung float test, it said it “strongly advocates using scientifically validated and evidence-based practices in forensic pathology.” The National Association of Medical Examiners called the lung float test “a single, dated test” that has not been subjected to the organization’s rigorous evaluation process."