June 23, 2022

As we await the anticipated fall of Roe and the subsequent loss of the constitutionally protected right to abortion, Pregnancy Justice today launched a first-of-its-kind, multidisciplinary guide to arm professionals with the tools and resources to reject the criminalization of pregnant people and their pregnancy outcomes — Confronting Pregnancy Criminalization: A Practical Guide for Healthcare Providers, Lawyers, Medical Examiners, Child Welfare Workers, and Policymakers.

Contact Northwell Health and ask them to resolve Rinat Dray’s case and to take steps to ensure pregnant patients are never again forced to undergo medical procedures without consent.

Background:

Rinat Dray was pregnant with her third child in 2011, and after two cesarean surgeries, she was committed to finding a provider who would be open to the possibility of, and respect her desire for, a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). She chose Northwell Health’s Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH). Despite advertising itself as a VBAC-friendly hospital, Ms. Dray’s birth experience at SIUH was even worse than her previous ones.

Experts Address the Rights of Pregnant Patients to Informed Consent, Bodily Integrity, and Medical Decision Making

What happens when a pregnant patient exercises their right to medical decision making? Is there any justification to override a pregnant patient’s consent? Join Pregnancy Justice for a discussion featuring leaders in bioethics, medicine, law and birth justice about pregnant patients' rights to informed consent, bodily integrity, and medical decision making and the trauma that forced medical interventions can inflict on pregnant people.

In July 2020, Pregnancy Justice joined numerous allies including Ancient Song Doula Services and Black Mammas Matter in signing an open letter that served as a national call for birth justice and accountability. Pregnancy Justice knows that just as police misuse their authority against Black, Brown, and Indigenous people on the streets, they also do so in hospitals and delivery rooms and with the assistance of health care professionals.

Last week, Pregnancy Justice filed an amicus brief (“friend of the court”) in support of Rinat Dray in her ongoing fight for justice following unconsented and forced cesarean surgery at Northwell Health’s Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH).

Since 1914, New York State Courts have recognized that “Every human being of adult years and sound mind has a right to determine what shall be done with his own body.

Dear Friends and Allies,

I learned that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had died when Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum announced this loss at the end of Rosh Hashanah high holiday services at CBST. My wife and I “attended” services by zoom. Like most of you reading this email, we were devastated, not only by the loss of this extraordinary woman, but also by the new threat to the survival of our constitutional democracy now that there is the possibility of another Trump appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Join Indra Lusero (Staff Attorney) and Kendall Bentsen (Organizer) from Pregnancy Justice, as they discuss the civil and human rights you have in the hospital during childbirth as well as the limitations of those rights in practice. This webinar includes an extensive Q&A session as well as an interactive quiz that will take you through the twists and turns of a birth experience in a hospital and test if you know your own birth rights.

Responding to multiple requests for information and guidance, Pregnancy Justice and the Birth Rights Bar Association have created a resource for people who encounter mistreatment, abuse, and human rights violations during childbirth. Unfortunately, when people experience a violation during childbirth it can be particularly hard to find legal redress for the harms they experience.

On April 10, Pregnancy Justice and BRBA held a webinar discussion exploring the limits of individual rights during a public health crisis, how pregnancy and birth are uniquely affected by such limitations, and strategies for how people can advocate and be resilient in the face of inadequate and ineffective rights.

A panel discussion exploring the limits of individual rights during a public health crisis, how pregnancy and birth are uniquely affected by such limitations, and strategies for how people can advocate and be resilient in the face of inadequate and ineffective rights.