Court blocks attempt to impose extra regulations on midwives, birth centers

Court blocks attempt to impose extra regulations on midwives, birth centers

An Alabama trial court issued a ruling on May 1 permanently blocking the Alabama Department of Public Health from regulating freestanding birth centers like hospitals and imposing onerous licensing rules that would have made it effectively impossible for these centers to provide evidence-based midwifery care in the state. The ruling ensures that plaintiffs Oasis Family Birthing Center in Birmingham and Alabama Birth Center in Huntsville, which h…

Alabama judge blocks state from regulating birth centers as hospitals

Dr. Heather Skanes, OB-GYN and owner of Oasis Family Birth Center in Birmingham, discusses ACLU's lawsuit against the Alabama Public Health Department on Aug. 8, 2023 in front of the Mothers of Gynecology Monument in Montgomery. (Alander Rocha/Alabama Reflector)An Alabama judge Thursday blocked the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) from regulating freestanding birth centers as hospitals, delivering a victory to midwives in the state. Mo…

Alabama Court Blocks Attempt to Impose Onerous, Unnecessary Hospital

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama trial court issued a ruling yesterday permanently blocking the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) from regulating freestanding birth centers like hospitals and imposing onerous licensing rules that would have made it effectively impossible for these centers to provide evidence-based midwifery care in the state. The ruling ensures that