Statements

A Statement From National Advocates for Pregnant Women

Recognizing that an outbreak of the coronavirus in jails and prisons will spread quickly and impact not only those behind bars, but entire communities, elected prosecutors from across the country, including from California, are calling on officials to reduce the incarcerated population.

Dear Friends and Allies,

NAPW knows that we can adhere to the recommendations for social distancing while still fighting for social justice. As we monitor the rapidly changing developments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we are taking every measure to protect the well-being of our staff while not wavering in our commitment to advocating for reproductive health, rights, and justice.

In the context of the nationwide litigation seeking to hold pharmaceutical companies liable for the over-prescription of opioids in the U.S, a team of private lawyers calling themselves the “Opioid Justice League” is seeking court approval to separately represent the interests of children born to women who used opioids during pregnancy.

On August 1, 2019, a prosecutor in Chattanooga, TN appeared in court and dropped all charges against Tiffany Roberts.

National Advocates for Pregnant Women and a coalition of Tennessee and national advocates and experts spoke out quickly and forcefully against the arrest and charges brought against Tiffany Roberts on July 23 in Chattanooga.

Some reports following New York’s passage of the Reproductive Health Act (RHA) asserted that the RHA somehow increases the risk of gender violence. NAPW and Professor Julie Goldscheid (CUNY Law School) authored a statement challenging those claims, and other false claims linking laws criminalizing abortion and related feticide laws with protection of women from violence.

Today thousands of New Yorkers and others in the U.S. and from around the world are demanding that Northwell Health eliminate policies and practices that authorize forced or coerced medical interventions on pregnant patients in their facilities. Through a petition organized by National Advocates for Pregnant Women and delivered today to Northwell’s CEO and Board of Trustees, thousands of people join in calling on Northwell to ensure that no pregnant patient is again denied her constitutional and statutory rights to medical decision-making and bodily integrity as Rinat Dray was at Northwell's Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH).

Eight years after being forced to have cesarean surgery which injured her bladder, Rinat Dray has sued but has not received justice.

Update: On July 3, District Attorney Lynneice Washington did the right thing by announcing her office would not pursue any criminal charges against Ms. Jones.

On June 27, prosecutors in Alabama unsealed an indictment for manslaughter against Marshae Jones based on the claim that being pregnant and being the victim of what would ordinarily be viewed as a crime, is itself a crime.

December 21, 2018
Both supporters and opponents of Alabama Amendment 2 (on the ballot November 2018) described it as a constitutional amendment that would remove all protection for abortion from the Alabama State Constitution. But NAPW recognized that Amendment 2 in its own words would do much more than just impact abortion: Amendment 2 would make it state policy--under all of Alabama's laws--to "recognize and support the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children.

NAPW Public Education in the Classroom and Beyond (Fall 2018)
December 21, 2018
Over the last few months, NAPW has had the opportunity to speak to students, faculty members and the public around the country on a range of issues, including: birth justice, the criminalization of pregnancy, gender-discriminatory advanced directive laws, obstetric violence and more.