The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alabama has filed a lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) on behalf of birth centers, challenging regulations that hinder midwife-led care and potentially reshaping the state's health care landscape, a press release reported.
"The state of Alabama is making it difficult, if not impossible, for birth centers to survive," JaTaune Bosby, executive director of ACLU of Alabama, said. "It has stood idly by as hospitals have closed and obstetrics services have become obsolete in many areas of the state."
In a significant legal move, the ACLU and the ACLU of Alabama have filed a lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Public Health on behalf of multiple birth centers, including the Oasis Family Birthing Center, challenging the department's restrictive regulations that hinder the operation of midwife-led birth centers across the state. The lawsuit, Oasis Family Birthing Center et. al. v. Alabama Department of Public Health, was filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Montgomery on Aug. 8.
The lawsuit represents a coalition of plaintiffs, including Oasis Family Birthing Center in Birmingham, Heather Skanes, M.D. from the Alabama Birth Center in Huntsville, Yashica Robinson, M.D. from Birth Sanctuary in Gainesville and Stephanie Mitchell DNP, CNM, CPM, alongside the Alabama affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. The legal representation is led by Bobby Segall of Copeland Franco.
The heart of the lawsuit revolves around ADPH's assertion that all birth centers providing midwife-led care are required to obtain a "hospital" license. This assertion, according to the ACLU's press release, has cast doubt over the legal status of these centers. The birth centers in question, however, exclusively serve low-risk patients with midwifery care, a model that has been safely practiced in out-of-hospital settings nationwide. The lawsuit claims that ADPH's stance has made it virtually impossible for these centers to acquire such licenses, thereby infringing upon their operations unjustly.
The lawsuit raises multiple legal points, including ADPH's lack of authority to mandate hospital licenses for midwife-led birth centers, as these centers do not fall under the definition of "hospitals," according to Alabama law. Even if ADPH does possess the licensing authority, it does not have the power to outright ban birth centers without offering a viable path to licensure, which the department has failed to provide. This absence of a clear route effectively constitutes a de facto ban on birth centers throughout Alabama.
Bosby highlighted the challenges faced by patients who must travel extensive distances to receive necessary health care due to limited access and stressed the importance of birthing centers, midwives and doulas in ensuring quality health care for the citizens of Alabama.
"Obstacles and barriers erected by state lawmakers and agencies prevent individuals, like our clients, from helping their patients. More birthing centers are needed here. Midwives and doulas are needed here. Their services provide hope and will save countless lives," she said.
