The birth movement could benefit richly from the successes of the women's movement in this country, particularly the latter's readiness to avail itself of the court system. Many birth activists, however, are averse to direct confrontation, and prefer more indirect, mediative challenges to the established system. Jessica Wilkerson of Vermont Law School has reviewed the history of the feminist movement and posits that disagreements over abortion have stalled the birth movement. She asserts that feminists should take on the cause of women to choose how and where they birth, no matter how distinct their ideologies on other issues.What do you think?

A major problem with current American birthing practices is the unacceptably high rate of surgical deliveries. The International Caserean  Awareness Network ("ICAN") is a non-for-profit, educational, and advocacy organization assisting women with information and community support in their recovery from cesarean surgery. It is ICAN's mission together with parents, childbirth educators, doulas, nurses, midwives and doctors to effectively educate the childbirth community and reduce the rate of unnecessary cesarean sections and their effects.Show less

International Cesarean Awareness Network

ican-online.org

Mothers and babies are protected by the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution.  Due process jurisprudence is muscular; it needs working to be healthy. When regularly exercised, it becomes even stronger. This does not happen unless we first invoke it. We must point to it and say "that's about ME".  To see how this applies to birth issues, please read my interview in the Spring 2012 Clarion.  Thank you ICAN!

I view current American maternity-care and birthing practices as presenting certain human-rights issues. One of the most distinguished birth activists in America is Ina May Gaskin. To learn about her unique contributions, use Wikipedia as a starting point.

Ina May Gaskin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

My husband, Valery Chalidze, introduced me to the remarkable world of human-rights activists, to whom this blog pays homage. If you want to learn a bit about his work, check him out in Wikipedia.

Valery Chalidze - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org

Lynn Paltrow, Esq. is an outstanding lawyer and the guiding spirit behind National Advocates For Pregnant Women. Attorney Paltrow won an important case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Ferguson v. South Carolina, in which the country's highest court held that under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, public hospitals cannot test pregnant women for drugs for medical reasons, and then turn the results over to the police without a proper search warrant. To see the CNN interview of Attorney Paltrow on this important case, please click on the link.Show less

CNN Transcript - Burden of Proof: South Carolina Battle Over Maternal Privacy; Workplace Disputes and the Courts; Does the Ex-wife Get the Money? - March 22, 2001CNN.com - Transcripts

transcripts.cnn.com

My thesis -- that physicians' birth recommendations without disclosure of the economic incentives underlying them violates women's human rights -- is discussed in an award-winning paper selected by the National Advocates For Pregnant Women, an excellent advocacy organization at http://advocatesforpregnantwomen.org/. Click on the link to read the paper.

 

If you are interested, please read my Law Review article, "Misinformed Consent: Non-medical Bases For American Birth Recommendations as a Human Rights Issue"

www.nyls.edu/user_files/1/3/4/17/49/946/Law%20Review%2054.1_Chalidze.pdf

The law is a powerful but unwieldy tool, and tends to carve more as an ax than a chisel. Pregnancy presents unique legal questions that involve occasionally different, even incompatible, interests. For an interesting legal comparison of a woman's right to bodily autonomy as both expectant mother and potential organ donor, click on this link for an award-winning law review article by Ellenor J.H. Stone. revjuruprx.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/07-ellenorstone-80-1r-1.pdf

Midwife Ina May Gaskin  points out that in the United States, more is spent on health  care than  in any other country, and more is spent on maternal health than any  other  type of hospital care, but our country is ranked 50th in maternal mortality and 41st in neonatal mortality worldwide. The New York Times in 2012 called her "the most prominent person" in the crusade against these evils. Do you think hospital birth is safer than home birth? Before posting your answer, please read http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/magazine/ina-may-gaskin-and-the-battle-for-at-home-births.html?pagewanted=all.

Also go to www.inamay.com/

inamay.com