Advancing birth justice: necessary for reproductive justice
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE: INCREASE OPTIONS FOR CARE AT BIRTH AND PROMOTE EMPOWERED BIRTH
Achieving reproductive justice for everyone requires ensuring the health and dignity of people who carry their pregnancies to term and give birth. Birth justice is a part of the reproductive justice movement that focuses on pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.
PEOPLE SEEKING TO END A PREGNANCY ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES WHO HAVE DIFFICULTY ACCESSING CARE THAT MEETS THEIR NEEDS AND UPHOLDS THEIR DIGNITY.
Giving birth is a momentous event in a person’s life: it carries unique health risks, and can have great personal significance. The care people receive during pregnancy and birth can have an impact on the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, in spite of our nation’s wealth and high expenditures on our health care system, the United States lags behind other developed nations in maternal and infant health outcomes. These disparities are attributable to a lack of access to care, and deficiencies in the care that pregnant people receive.
There are a range of safe options for prenatal care providers (including midwives, family physicians, and ob/gyns), as well as for the location of birth (including a person’s home, a freestanding birthing center, or a hospital). But people may face obstacles in accessing care: there are maternity care ‘deserts’ in which there are no providers, midwives are prohibited from practicing in some states, and Medicaid does not cover all options.
And even having access to health care is no guarantee that a person will have a healthy or positive experience. Black women are three times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women. One recent survey of people who have given birth recently discovered that one in six report having experienced mistreatment and disrespect during birth, with people of color and LGBTQ people reporting higher rates of mistreatment.
The mistreatment that people experience during labor and delivery can go beyond disrespectful words and neglect, and verge into control and punishment known as obstetric violence. There have been cases in which people who disagree with the advice of their physicians have been threatened with patient abandonment, removal of their children by child welfare authorities, and court-ordered medical interventions. Pregnant people have been forced to undergo medical interventions against their will under court order with no opportunity to raise a defense on their behalf, or with no legal authority at all.
If/When/How is a project of the Tides Center / [email protected] / ifwhenhow.org
PROMOTING HEALTHY PREGNANCY AND DIGNIFIED BIRTH IS A REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE ISSUE.
Reproductive justice will exist when all people can exercise the rights and access the resources they need to thrive and to decide if, when, and how to create and sustain their families with dignity, free from discrimination, coercion, or violence.
People who carry pregnancies to term have the human right to conditions that will enable them to have a healthy pregnancy and safe birth, and access – in law and in fact – to a range of options for where and with whom they give birth. They should be free to seek a prenatal care provider of their choosing, and to be accompanied by a support system during birth. They should be given information about any proposed medical procedures, including risks, benefits, and alternatives, in a manner that is understandable and non- coercive. Pregnant people’s right to make decisions about their medical care should be respected, even if they are in disagreement with their health care providers, just like any other patient. Nobody should ever be forced to undergo a medical procedure without consent, or be bullied or threatened into giving consent.
LAWYERS CAN ADVANCE BIRTH JUSTICE BY:
• Expanding equitable access to labor support for everyone • Supporting policy efforts to expand access to midwifery care • Securing fair compensation for birth workers • Helping health care providers and birth workers understand and uphold the rights of the birthing people they work with • Providing legal support to people who have experienced coercion and unconsented procedures during birth
LEARN MORE ABOUT BIRTH JUSTICE FROM THESE MOVEMENT ALLIES:
• Birth Rights Bar Association • Southern Birth Justice Network • Black Women Birthing Justice • Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health • Ancient Song Doula Services • Young Women United • Black Mamas Matter Alliance • Native Youth Sexual Health Network
If/When/How is a project of the Tides Center / [email protected] / ifwhenhow.org