December, 2021
In April 2021, Arizona enacted Senate Bill 1457, which broadens the entire Arizona criminal and civil code such that every mention of “person” or “child” includes “an unborn child at every stage of development.” This so-called “Personhood Provision” provides the grounds for state actors in Arizona including prosecutors and child welfare authorities to treat the fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses inside of pregnant women as whole persons with independent rights.
Brittney Poolaw, a 20-year-old Oklahoma woman, was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree for experiencing a miscarriage at 17 weeks. She was sentenced to 4 years in state prison. Contrary to all medical science, the prosecutor blamed the miscarriage on Brittney’s alleged use of controlled substances.
Dear Friends and Allies,
I am guessing that the disastrous developments happening in Texas and the Supreme Court have already caught your attention. But just in case: a few weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court did not stop a plainly unconstitutional six-week abortion ban, Texas’s SB8, from going into effect.
In 2013, the Journal of Public Health Law and Policy published National Advocates for Pregnant Women (“NAPW”) peer-reviewed study documenting arrests, detentions, and equivalent deprivations of physical liberty of women between 1973 and 2005 in which being pregnant was a necessary element of the crime or a “but for” reason for the coercive or punitive action taken.
Experts Address the Rights of Pregnant Patients to Informed Consent, Bodily Integrity, and Medical Decision Making
What happens when a pregnant patient exercises their right to medical decision making? Is there any justification to override a pregnant patient’s consent? Join NAPW for a discussion featuring leaders in bioethics, medicine, law and birth justice about pregnant patients' rights to informed consent, bodily integrity, and medical decision making and the trauma that forced medical interventions can inflict on pregnant people.
Webinar Recording: Anti-Abortion and Pro-Insurrection: How White Supremacists, Male Supremacists, and Anti-Abortionists Converged at the Capitol
Dr. Carol Mason and Professor Loretta J. Ross explain connections between the insurrectionary right and anti-abortion ideology, both of which are fueled by racism, anti-Semitism, and misogyny.
On Wednesday, NAPW's Organizer Kendall Bentsen testified against Texas HB 1171, a dangerous bill that would appoint an attorney ad litem or guardian ad litem for a fertilized egg, embryo or fetus when Texas minors are trying to obtain an abortion through judicial bypass.
On March 17, 2020, Lynn M. Paltrow, Founder and Executive Director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women, testified before the Arizona House Judiciary in opposition to Senate Bill 1457, which, among other things, would require that the Arizona constitution be construed to acknowledge, “on behalf of an unborn child at every stage of development, all rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens and residents of this state.
Join us on 1/29 @ 1pm EST for an NAPW Webinar: 5 Turning Points on the Road to Insurrection: Anti-abortionists and Trumpism
On the day of the annual “March for Life,” Dr. Carol Mason will explore the contributions of the “pro-life” movement to Trumpism.
The U.S. is experiencing a Black Maternal Mortality Crisis, where 1 in 4 women of color report mistreatment during birth. In this webinar Efe Osaren, a Nigerian-American Student Midwife, Full Spectrum Doula and Reproductive/Birth Justice Advocate discusses real solutions, shares the joys of home birth midwifery, and answers 77 questions from students.
