Lawsuit seeks to decriminalise midwives in Georgia

A group of Georgia midwives sued the state on April 2, asking a Fulton County court to strike down laws that block many of them from practicing. (wabe.org) The plaintiffs are Jamarah Amani, Tamara Taitt and Sarah Stokely, and the case was filed with support from the Center for Reproductive Rights. They argue Georgia bars midwives trained for home and birth-center care from working at all and forces certified nurse-midwives to practice under written physician oversight. (reproductiverights.org) Georgia’s rules say no one may practice midwifery or present themselves as a midwife unless they hold current certification from the Georgia Board of Nursing as a certified nurse-midwife. The lawsuit says that leaves other trained midwives exposed to criminal and civil penalties if they provide care. (rules.sos.ga.gov) (reproductiverights.org) The case landed after House Bill 520, a proposal to create a licensure path for midwives and repeal Georgia’s current midwifery chapter, failed to advance in the 2025-2026 session. The Center for Reproductive Rights said the suit was announced on the last day of the legislative session after that bill stalled. (legis.ga.gov) (reproductiverights.org) Georgia is fighting this case against a backdrop of shrinking maternity care. More than a third of counties in the state are maternity care deserts, and roughly 17% of pregnant Georgians received inadequate prenatal care in 2023, according to data cited by WABE from March of Dimes. (wabe.org) Birth-center access is also narrowing. Georgia now has three freestanding birth centers statewide after Savannah Birth and Wellness Center closed earlier this year, and the Center for Reproductive Rights said only 36% of Georgia’s rural hospitals offered labor and delivery services as of August 2025. (wabe.org) (reproductiverights.org) The pressure is especially acute for Black families. WABE reported on April 10 that Georgia’s Black maternal mortality rate is estimated at 48.6 to 69.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, and Black women in the state are 2 to 3 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. (wabe.org) That is why this lawsuit is surfacing during Black Maternal Health Week, which runs from April 11 through April 17 this year and marks the 10-year anniversary of the movement led by Black Mamas Matter Alliance. The week’s 2026 theme is “Rooted in Joy & Justice.” (wabe.org) Families are also pushing state leaders in public. In a report published April 11, 11Alive said two Georgia mothers who lost their daughters said delayed care and legal confusion around pregnancy treatment left them demanding changes to state maternal health protections. (11alive.com) Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office declined to discuss the case, with spokesperson Kara Murray telling WABE the office could not comment because of pending litigation. The next fight is whether the court, not the legislature, will reopen a legal path for more midwives to practice in Georgia. (wabe.org)