For immediate release
Contact: media@pregnancyjusticeus.org
NEW YORK — Today, reproductive rights and justice organizations UltraViolet, Pregnancy Justice, Elephant Circle, If/When/How, and the Center for Reproductive Rights delivered a petition signed by 30,000 people demanding that two Florida hospitals — University of Florida Health (UF Health) in Jacksonville and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare — stop forcing pregnant people to have cesarean births and provide justice for patients Cherise Doyley and Brianna Bennett.
Upon delivering the signatures to the hospitals, Nicole Regalado, vice president of campaigns at UltraViolet, a leading national gender justice organization, issued the following statement: “Thousands of everyday people, including women and mothers, made their voices heard today, speaking out against both the callous mistreatment of Cherise Doyley and Brianna Bennett by these hospitals as well as the inhumane laws and court orders which led to that mistreatment,” Regalado said. “Pregnancy is the only condition where Florida patients can be forced to undergo unwanted treatment. This isn’t about safety. It’s a dangerous assault on the rights of thousands of pregnant people.”
UF Health drew national headlines after coercing Ms. Doyley into have a C-section after initiating an emergency, remote court hearing at her bedside. A year and a half earlier, Ms. Bennett was also subjected to a remote court hearing and was forced to have a C-section at Tallahassee Memorial. These and other injustices make clear how quickly bad-faith state laws granting rights to fertilized eggs, embryos, and fetuses can be used to strip pregnant people of control over their own bodies.
“All patients deserve to know and understand the risks of medical interventions, to make decisions about their care, and to have those decisions respected. Pregnant people are no less capable of this than anyone else, yet these hospital systems and the state of Florida have decided that pregnant people are not autonomous human beings deserving of full rights,” said Pregnancy Justice Senior Vice President Dana Sussman. “What happened to Cherise and Brianna should shock everyone, but it’s the unfortunately unsurprising outcome when we decide that pregnant people are no longer deserving of full rights.”
Reproductive rights and justice organizations were joined by 30,000 people, including thousands of women and mothers, today in demanding that the hospitals stop forced C-sections. They also called on the hospitals to provide justice for Ms. Doyley and Ms. Bennett by rendering financial relief to the two women, disciplining the doctors and hospital staff who ignored them, and taking all necessary steps to end discriminatory policies and practices based on sex, gender, pregnancy status, and race. The campaign has gained significant traction across social media, including amplification by influencers like Blair Imani, whose “Smarter in Seconds” videos break down complex topics for her nearly one million followers.
“The decisions people make about pregnancy are some of the most important of their life. For the state or a hospital to claim they have a legal or moral right superior to the person who will live with the experience and its consequences is outrageous. It shows that they don’t believe that pregnant people should have control over their own bodies and disrespects what it means to be a parent,” said Farah Diaz-Tello, senior counsel and legal director of If/When/How. “No one should have to fear that advocating for what is best for their body, their baby, and their family could result in their hospital room becoming a courtroom.”
“What Cherise and Brianna had to endure is unthinkable and inhumane. The state of Florida cannot claim to support mothers and families while forcing unwanted medical interventions on them,” said Pilar Herrero, senior attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “We all deserve the right to make our own decisions about our bodies and health, including how we give birth, and to have those decisions be respected. These hospitals and the state must be held accountable. We cannot let anyone else suffer the same fate.”
There is still time to sign the petition to stop forced C-sections: act.weareultraviolet.org/sign/no_forced_csections
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Pregnancy Justice advances and defends the rights of pregnant people, no matter if they give birth, experience a pregnancy loss, or have an abortion. No one should lose their rights because of pregnancy.