Spring Greetings: To all those who celebrate: Ramadan Mubarak, Happy Easter, Chag Purim Sameach, Eid-eh Shoma Mobarak, and Happy Holi!

In recognition of Women’s History Month, we are turning back to the topic of our inaugural newsletter, maternal health in the United States and more broadly reproductive justice. Below we share recent advances and setbacks in the fight for reproductive justice and a guest article by Brooklyn Law student, Shiara Robinson, on the Black maternal health crisis.

Reproductive Justice (or “RJ”) is the ability to decide if, when, and how to have children and to parent children with dignity and in safe environments. SisterSong, a reproductive justice organization, explains that while women of color, indigenous women, and transgender people have always advocated for Reproductive Justice, the term was first coined by a group of Black women, Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice, in 1994 in Chicago.

Reproductive Justice goes beyond reproductive choice to advance access.  It also places the focus on and perspective from those who have been historically marginalized, and is an intersectional framework rooted in human rights law. As Alicia Ely Yamin, Lecturer on Law and the Senior Fellow on Global Health and Rights at Harvard Law School explains, “advancing maternal health is inseparable from the struggle for reproductive justice.”[1]

Maternal Health:

• In January Lisa Holder, Equal Justice Society’s president and counsel in our Hair Relaxer Litigation, appeared on the podcast The Switch Up with Cheyanne M. Daniels, to discuss The Maternal Mortality Crisis: An American Epidemic. Lisa discusses systemic racism in healthcare and details her own personal experience in a healthcare system where Black women are often treated as persona non grata. You can listen to the podcast here.

• In February, midwives, midwifery students, and patients sued the state of Hawaiʻi alleging that the Midwifery Restriction Law “unconstitutionally criminalizes skilled midwives, birth workers, and even family members for providing care and support to pregnant and birthing people.” The law has particularly impacted Native Hawaiian midwives and families of color. Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander people have the highest pregnancy related mortality ratio in the country. The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights and senior counsel, Hillary Schneller, explains that the law is “akin to medical colonialism.” The complaint is available here.

IVF Access:

• A February Alabama Supreme Court’s decision holding embryos are persons effectively cut off access to IVF for families in Alabama. In response to this troubling order, state and federal legislatures are considering, and in the case of Alabama passing, legislation that may address one type of access limitation while subjecting families seeking IVF treatment to further vulnerability in the event of negligence or gross misconduct by IVF providers.
  
  For example, the new Alabama law provides complete immunity (meaning, the patients have no legal recourse) to IVF clinics and doctors for damaging and/or destroying embryos and limits the liability of manufacturers (of the products and devices used in the IVF process) to IVF treatment reimbursement costs. As explained by Lieff Cabraser partner, Sarah London, to USA Today, “It is vital to protect access, but we should not give complete immunity to the fertility industry and wipe out critical protections for women undergoing IVF treatment. When the industry fails to live up to minimum safety standards and the promises made to hopeful parents, we need to ensure there is a pathway to accountability.”

Right to Bodily Autonomy:

• French legislators voted to enshrine reproductive rights (abortion) in their constitution as a “guaranteed freedom.” This is a global first. While France has not faced the attacks on bodily integrity and reproductive rights seen here, the vote was in part a response to the fall of Roe v Wade in the US.

• Later this month, CVS and Walgreens will start selling mifepristone (a drug that terminates a pregnancy)on prescription at stores in several US states where abortion is still legal.

Birth Control Access:

• Opill, the first oral contraceptive pill to be available without a prescription in the U.S., is now available in drugstores and online.

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[1] Yamin AE. Five Lessons for Advancing Maternal Health Rights in an Age of Neoliberal Globalization and Conservative Backlash. Health Hum Rights. 2023 Jun;25(1):185-194. PMID: 37397427; PMCID: PMC10309149.