Black midwives sue Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi over practice restrictions
9 reported
Black midwives in the South are leading lawsuits against Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, arguing that state regulations limit their ability to provide care. The lawsuits challenge requirements for collaborative practice agreements with physicians and regulations on birth centers that plaintiffs say are similar to hospital rules. The women behind the litigation say midwives can improve birthing outcomes in states with higher maternal mortality rates and treat low-risk pregnancies in rural and underserved areas. They turned to the courts after legislative attempts to widen their scope of practice stalled, according to the article. The lawsuits were filed in state courts, with one federal lawsuit filed by the American College of Nurse-Midwives against Mississippi. The article notes that Black women are two-and-a-half times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than the national average, based on CDC data.
What’s reported
Black midwives are suing Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi over state regulations they say limit their ability to provide care.
The lawsuits challenge collaborative practice agreements with physicians and birth center regulations similar to hospital rules.
The U.S. maternal mortality rate in 2024 was 17.9 deaths per 100,000 births; the rate for Black women was 44.8.
82% of the nation’s nearly 15,000 certified midwives are white, according to the American Midwifery Certification Board’s 2025 demographic report.
Georgia bars direct-entry midwives from practicing; certified nurse-midwives must have collaborative practice agreements that can cost up to $1,000 a month.
There are 350 certified midwives in Georgia, 22 in Alabama, and 11 in Mississippi.
The Alabama Supreme Court declined to review a January appeals court decision that the state health department can regulate birth centers like hospitals.
The American College of Nurse-Midwives filed a federal lawsuit in January against Mississippi; the state attorney general’s office denied allegations and asked for dismissal.
Mississippi Republican state Rep. Dan Eubanks has repeatedly introduced a bill to remove the collaborative practice requirement, but it did not advance.
Key figures
Tamara Taitt, direct-entry midwife, executive director of Atlanta Birth Center, plaintiff in Georgia lawsuit
Sarah Stokely, certified nurse-midwife based in Rome, Georgia, plaintiff in Georgia lawsuit
Jamarah Amani, cofounder of the National Black Midwives Alliance, plaintiff in Georgia lawsuit
Hillary Schneller, Center for Reproductive Rights lawyer representing Georgia plaintiffs
Dr. Yashica Robinson, OB-GYN in Huntsville, Alabama
Getty Israel, founder of Sisters in Birth, a Mississippi women’s health clinic
Rob McDuff, lawyer at the Mississippi Center for Justice representing plaintiff in Mississippi lawsuit
Mississippi Republican state Rep. Dan Eubanks
Mississippi state Sen. Hob Bryan, Democrat, chair of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee
Dr. Wanda Wilburn, Southern California-based OB-GYN and historian at the Association of Black Women Physicians
Sources: stateline.org
