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.
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.
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.
Every leading medical and public health organization to address the issue of pregnant women and drug use has taken a position opposing punitive approaches as dangerous to maternal, fetal and child health. Please read the information below or download this fact sheet providing summaries of and citations to these statements.
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.
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.
On March 9, 2021, Kings County Superior Court Judge Robert Shane Burns granted Chelsea Becker’s request to be released on her own recognizance so that she can enter a residential treatment facility, but her legal fight continues.
In 2019, Ms. Becker experienced a stillbirth, which Kings County District Attorney Keith L. Fagundes claims, without scientific basis, was caused by methamphetamine use.
On February 20, 2021, in response to a request by the Biden-Harris Administration for input on its drug policy priorities, NAPW submitted comments to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the government entity that leads and coordinates U.S. drug policy.
Thank you for supporting National Advocates for Pregnant Women and our work to ensure the civil and human rights of all people, including pregnant women
In a year that has been so hard, we are especially grateful for your support.
It has also been a year in which we have nevertheless continued, with your help, to make a difference.
