FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2014

Contact: Lynn Paltrow, Pregnancy Justice, (212) 255-9252
Cherisse Scott, SisterReach, (901) 310-5488

Nationwide Coalition Calls on Department of Justice to Denounce Enhanced Sentence for Pregnant Woman

Today, a coalition of 48 reproductive justice, drug policy reform, women’s rights and civil liberties organizations sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to renounce enhanced criminal penalties for women on the basis of pregnancy.

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
JULY 17, 2014

CONTACT: ALEX WALDEN: (202) 587-2868
AWALDEN@RABENGROUP.COM

LEADING EXPERTS AND ORGANIZATIONS CHALLENGE TENNESSEE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION’S ROLE IN NEW PREGNANCY CRIMINALIZATION LAW
Pregnancy Justice and More Than 70 Organizations and Medical and Ethics Professionals, Express Concern in Open Letter, Call on TMA to Join Efforts to Repeal the Law and Prioritize Confidential and Compassionate Health Care

New York, NY – Pregnancy Justice, along with more than 70 leading Tennessee, national, and international medial and ethics professionals, and other organizations, released a letter to policymakers and media calling attention to the Tennessee Medical Association’s (TMA) support for a radical new law allowing the arrest of women who become pregnant.

Open Letter to the Tennessee Medical Association: Should pregnant women trust doctors who defend laws that will lead to their arrest?
Download file.

Arresting Developments (and some Victories) for Pregnant Women in the US

As if the recent Supreme Court decisions were not enough, the last few weeks have been a frightening reminder that it is not just women's rights to abortion and contraception that are at stake, but also their right to be free from arrests, prosecutions, and cruel and inhumane punishment.

Contacts:
Cherisse Scott, SisterReach, Healthy and Free Tennessee, 901-310-5488
Farah Diaz-Tello, Pregnancy Justice, 212-255-9252
Micaela Cadena, Young Women United, 575-644-5830

The following statement can be attributed to Healthcare Not Handcuffs:

As yesterday’s arrest of an East Tennessee mother makes clear, the state’s newly expanded fetal assault law is designed to humiliate and punish, not treat or protect.

Tennessee Ignores Experts & Advocates; Passes MeasureHarmful to Babies & Families

Despite the extraordinary efforts of an amazing coalition, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed SB 1391 into law on Tuesday, April 29, 2014. As a result, Tennessee has become the first state to ignore the warnings of medical and public health experts and pass a law criminalizing adverse pregnancy outcomes, making those who become pregnant subject to separate and unequal laws.

For years, Pregnancy Justice has worked with leading medical experts and organizations challenging the myths and misinformation about pregnant drug-using women that have been used to hurt all pregnant women and establish precedent for overturning Roe v. Wade.

At the request of activists in Tennessee, Pregnancy Justice analyzed two 2009 bills in Tennessee concerning pregnant women. Pursuant to Tennessee bills SB1065 and HB0890, pregnant women who meet certain criteria would be tested for alcohol and drugs in order to encourage them to seek immediate treatment for an alcohol-related or drug- related problem.