Hawaiian midwifery on trial: Whats at stake in this defining moment for indigenous rights and womens health [Video]

Today hearings begin in Kahoʻohanohano v. State of Hawaiʻi, a lawsuit challenging restrictions placed on the type of licensure midwives in Hawai’i need to legally practice. Native Hawaiian and Indigenous birth workers now face criminalization for serving their communities, and families are left with few options among a mounting U.S. maternal mortality crisis and for some, multiple barriers to accessing health care facilities.

The Center for Reproductive Rights represents nine plaintiffs, including six midwives and midwifery students suing the state of Hawai’i in response to a Midwifery Restriction Law which they say violates Native Hawaiian traditional birthing practices.

“We are going to court to ensure that every person in Hawai’i has the right to make their own decisions about their pregnancy care, including the decision to give birth at home with a traditional midwife,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Right now in Hawai’i, skilled midwives are facing criminal prosecution for serving their communities in …