Background: House Bill 312 will allow licensed midwives to perform care in the setting of freestanding birth centers. This bill will directly reverse the de facto bans impacting the performance of midwife care in the setting of freestanding birth centers and it would redefine a birth center as “not a hospital.”
Our Position: We support House Bill 312. Alabama has the highest mortality rate in the nation, and Black women are at significantly higher risk of dying due to pregnancy or birth related complications than white women. Alabama also has one of the highest infant mortality rates. Many of these preventable deaths are attributed to the sparse amount of maternal care available in the state. The freestanding birth centers that practice under the midwifery model of care often serve as an important resource for people and family planners to safely access prenatal care and birthing services. The ACLU of Alabama believes that allowing freestanding birth centers to provide birth services and licensed midwives to operate at their full scope of practice will positively impact maternal health in our state.
