For immediate release
Contact: media@pregnancyjusticeus.org
NEW YORK – On August 12, the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates passed a resolution opposing laws that impose civil or criminal penalties based on actions during pregnancy or its outcome. We commend the ABA on Resolution 518, which takes a critical stand by the nation’s largest voluntary association of lawyers against the increasing criminalization and punitive treatment of pregnancy that threatens fundamental rights, undermines public health by discouraging individuals from seeking medical care, and worsens devastating maternal and infant health outcomes.
In the year following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs, at least 210 people were criminally charged for their actions during pregnancy, based on the potential, actual, or perceived impact on their pregnancy or its outcome. By opposing laws that allow such prosecutions and other forms of punishment, and advocating for laws that prohibit them, we hope this resolution provides a foundation for the ABA to educate and engage the legal profession and take additional steps to protect the rights of pregnant people.
Statement from Pregnancy Justice President Lourdes A. Rivera
Pregnancy loss or any behaviors perceived as putting a pregnancy in danger – conduct that could be perfectly legal for others – are increasingly being treated as potentially criminal or as a reason to remove one’s children from one’s care.
Women who are stereotyped and marginalized the most are most vulnerable to criminalization, family separation, or other punitive treatment. But, if taken to its logical conclusion, any pregnant person is in danger of having their rights and bodily autonomy violated for conduct deemed “risky” to a pregnancy.
By passing this resolution, the ABA is creating a strong platform for legal and policy change that can stem this injustice.
Statement from Pregnancy Justice Senior Policy Counsel Kulsoom K. Ijaz
People are being prosecuted for ordinary human experiences. 1 in 4 known pregnancies end in pregnancy loss. Yet, miscarriages and stillbirths, medical events and tragedies, are being recast as crimes. Pregnant people who use substances, or live with substance use disorder, a recognized mental health condition, are being punished simply for existing.
With Resolution 518, the ABA has aligned itself with best practices in medicine and sent a clear message: oppose pregnancy criminalization. We congratulate them on this historic step and hope it is the first of many toward ensuring that pregnant people, like all people, can live with safety and dignity.
###
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.