Adora Perez was charged with murder in 2018 after she delivered a stillborn baby at Adventist Hospital in Hanford, California. District Attorney Keith Fagundes claimed, without scientific basis, that the stillbirth was caused by methamphetamine use. Penal Code Section 187 punishes the “unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought.
NAPW Files Amicus Brief in the Case of Adora Perez, a California Woman Serving an 11-Year Sentence for Manslaughter After Experiencing a Stillbirth
Support Brittney Poolaw
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.
Oklahoma Prosecution and Conviction of a Woman for Experiencing a Miscarriage is Shameful and Dangerous
On Tuesday, October 5, Brittney Poolaw, a 20-year-old Oklahoma woman, was convicted of manslaughter in the first degree for experiencing a miscarriage at 17 weeks and sentenced to 4 years in state prison.
Last year, Ms. Poolaw experienced a miscarriage and went to Comanche County Hospital for medical help.
Activist Update: Abortion Bans Hurt All People Capable of Pregnancy
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.
National Advocates for Pregnant Women Files Brief with U.S. Supreme Court Focusing on the Impact of Mississippi’s Abortion Ban on All Pregnant People, Not Only Those Seeking to End a Pregnancy
On September 20, 2021, National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW), with co-counsel David Goldberg, partner at Donahue, Goldberg, and Littleton, filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in support of Respondents’ challenge to Mississippi’s law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
CASE UPDATE: NAPW Files Renewed Motion to Dismiss in Lauderdale County, AL Based on Unprecedented and Unconstitutional Theory Regarding Pregnancy, Chronic Pain, and Prescription Drug Use
NAPW has filed a renewed Motion to Dismiss (MTD) on behalf of our client Kim Blalock, an Alabama mother who was charged with prescription fraud for taking medication prescribed by her physician to manage chronic back pain while pregnant. We recently won a motion seeking more information from the prosecutor, requiring them to detail Ms. Blalock’s alleged wrongdoing.
National Advocates for Pregnant Women Files Brief on Behalf of 45 Organizations, Experts, and Advocates, Including Actor Amy Schumer, in Support of Arizona Mother Found to Have Committed Child Neglect for Legally Using Medical Marijuana to Treat Hyperemesis Gravidarum During Her Pregnancy
Hyperemesis Gravidarum Is a Life-Threatening Pregnancy Condition
For Immediate Release: July 6, 2021
On Friday, July 1, National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW), as lead amici, asked an Arizona Court of Appeals to accept their brief on behalf of 45 leading health organizations, doctors, ethicists, scientific and medical experts, and advocates, including Amy Schumer, in support of Lindsay R., a mother found guilty of civil child neglect and placed on Arizona’s Child Abuse Central Registry because she used medical marijuana while pregnant pursuant to a valid medical certification and suffered from acute hyperemesis gravidarum.
NAPW testifies in support of Massachusetts bill H.221
On June 15 2021, NAPW provided comments to the Massachusetts Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities and Chair Senator Adam Gomez in strong support of bill H.221. This bill will reduce unnecessary reporting and counterproductive family separation, and thereby benefit maternal, fetal, and child health.
6/23 Webinar Recording Now Available
Missed the webinar but still looking for CE or DONA credit? Good news – you can watch the recording and still receive credits up until July 21st.
Watch the webinar recording and be sure to fill out the NASW affirmation form to obtain Wisconsin social work credit or DONA credit.
Murder Charge Against Chelsea Becker for Experiencing a Stillbirth Is Dismissed
For Immediate Release: May 20, 2021
Today, Kings County Superior Court Judge Robert Shane Burns dismissed the murder charge against our client, Chelsea Becker. This outcome is a major victory in her 19-month legal battle challenging the legitimacy of a murder charge for experiencing a stillbirth.