Birth doulas across Arkansas have formed a new organization to improve maternal health care across the state and help pass legislation they hope will make doula services accessible to more families.
Doulas are members of a birthing team providing emotional, physical and educational support to expectant mothers.
Cora Crain, cofounder and board vice president of the Doula Alliance of Arkansas, said research shows doula services can reduce cesarean sections, premature deliveries and length of labor.
"We have people reaching out to us. This is their first time they don't know what they don't know," Crain explained. "It's all very overwhelming. There's definitely a certain amount of fear that a lot of people are bringing to the birth experience and then of course if you had a doula in your previous birth then you usually continue."
Doulas provide services during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum.
Members of the alliance are supporting a bill before state legislators next year mandating insurance companies and Medicaid to cover doula costs. Crain noted if passed, the legislation will make services available to more expectant mothers.
"Doula services can be so important in getting healthier outcomes and also just more positive experiences that lead to more positive postpartum times," Crain emphasized. "But it's just not as accessible to so many women that can't afford that out-of-pocket expense. "
Arkansas has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation.
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With a few days left in the 2025 legislative session, Republican lawmakers pushed through a bill they say should reassure doctors they can rely on their medical judgment when treating pregnancy complications, despite the state's abortion ban.
But some Kentucky doctors said the wording of House Bill 90, in an effort to clarify the ban, is "junk language," which confuses them even more than current law.
Tamarra Weider, Kentucky state director for Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, said dozens of health care providers have signed onto a letter asking Gov. Andy Beshear to veto it.
"I think it's also important to note that House Bill 90 changes the definition of medical emergency in Kentucky law," Weider pointed out. "The current law gives providers the authority to make decisions in emergencies but this bill would allow judges to decide whether care was truly necessary."
Some Kentucky OB/GYNs said the state's abortion ban is forcing them to violate their oath as physicians and causing "devastating consequences" for patients. Two House Republicans brought forth the language, which was supported largely along party lines. Supporters said the bill will help save lives.
Weider noted physicians accused of violating Kentucky's abortion ban can be charged with a Class D felony and imprisoned, if convicted.
"I think that this is going to continue to chill doctors, continue to chill hospitals, and their lawyers and administrators," Weider emphasized. "Because it puts forward more confusion, more ambiguity."
The legislation said, "no action that requires separating a pregnant woman from her unborn child shall be performed, except the following, when performed by a physician based upon his or her reasonable medical judgment." Doctors said the use of "reasonable medical judgment" still does not protect providers from legal action.
This story is based on original reporting by Sarah Ladd for the Kentucky Lantern.
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The 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn federal abortion protections continues to be felt.
New research now suggests states where bans have been enacted, including South Dakota, will see fewer workers because of the moves.
The Institute for Women's Policy Research is out with a new study including survey data from 10,000 adults. The authors said one in five respondents planning to have children within the next decade has moved -- or knows someone who has -- to another state because of reproductive care restrictions in their current location.
Melissa Mahoney, senior research economist at the institute, said it shows ban states will likely see some of their workforce talent flow elsewhere.
"The labor markets in states that protect abortion tend to be more welcoming for women with higher wages, greater access to health insurance, also stronger labor force participation," Mahoney outlined.
The findings mirror results from a similar study issued earlier this year by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
After the Dobbs ruling, when conservative states began enacting bans, officials such as former Gov. Kristi Noem pledged their support for pregnant women and children. Some policy analysts argued Noem's record often fell short in that area.
Mahoney pointed out their research indicates it is not just a problem for state policymakers. She noted businesses should also be worried about a "talent drain," with survey respondents wanting them to prioritize care access.
"Many, in addition, are asking more of their employers in terms of reproductive health care benefits, in terms of speaking out against abortion restrictions in their states," Mahoney observed.
According to the findings, 57% of respondents said they are more likely to apply for or accept a job with reproductive health care benefits as part of the offer. And in South Dakota, 65% of adults think employers should provide financial assistance for child care.
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By Rebekah Sager for the Michigan Independent.
Broadcast version by Chrystal Blair for Michigan News Connection reporting for the Michigan Independent-Public News Service Collaboration
The AP reported on Jan. 31 that a grand jury had indicted a doctor in New York on felony charges of criminal abortion for prescribing an abortion medication online for a patient in Louisiana.
The indictment was issued by a grand jury of the Louisiana 18th Judicial District Court for the Parish of West Baton Rouge against Dr. Margaret Carpenter, her New Paltz-based company Nightingale Medical, and the mother of the teen patient, who obtained and administered the medication. Arrest warrants were issued on Jan. 31 for Carpenter and the mother; the mother turned herself in to the police that day.
Louisiana law outlaws abortion completely, with exceptions for the life and health of the pregnant patient.
While 18th Judicial District Attorney Tony Clayton told the AP, "We expect Dr. Carpenter to come to Louisiana and answer to these charges, and if 12 people (a jury) think she's innocent then, let it go," New York's so-called shield law protects Carpenter from extradition, said Rachel Rebouché, the dean of Temple University Law School.
What are shield laws?
Eighteen states, including New York, have laws that protect medical providers from investigation, subpoenas, warrants, and demands for extradition from another state. New York's law says that the governor will not recognize such demands from another state as long as the provider was not physically located in that state when the procedure was carried out.
The law in eight of the 18 states - California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington - specifically protects reproductive health care, regardless of the patient's location.
What happens when a state's shield law is challenged?
Rebouché, who has worked closely with legislators and shield law advocates, said, "I think the long game is to stop mailed medication abortion, which is approved by the FDA as well."
"I think the consequences are, for the providers, I think there is a chilling effect," Rebouché continued. "No one wants to be indicted for a crime. No one wants to be sued for $100,000 and for Dr Carpenter, she can't go to Texas or Louisiana, she can't go to a state that might extradite her to one of those states."
Rebouché explained that in such cases of interstate conflict, each side has the right to pass its own laws. "Typically, states do cooperate," she said. "That's the baseline. But states have rights to also defend people in their jurisdictions."
"Maggie Carpenter is not breaking the law," Rebouché said. "She is complying entirely with New York law. Now, Texas and New York can disagree about what that means, but she, as a doctor, is not breaking the law. ... Almost half the country has got this through its legislature to protect people who are providing reproductive health care."
On Feb. 3, New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law that gives doctors who prescribe abortion medication the right to ask that pharmacies only print the name of their medical practice on the prescription label and not the doctor's name.
"The intent of shield laws is to try to deflect attacks from out of state for providers in state through different levels, criminal, civil, professional discipline, insurance hikes," Rebouché said.
Officials in Louisiana continue to insist that they will prosecute Carpenter. "It is illegal to send abortion pills into this State and it's illegal to coerce another into having an abortion. I have said it before and I will say it again: We will hold individuals accountable for breaking the law," Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on the social media platform X.
Rebouché noted: "Louisiana can and has arrested her for what it claims is a violation of its abortion ban. It has to prove that in a criminal court. ... If Louisiana has prosecutors who are going to go after anybody who's helped somebody, that could have a significant chilling effect."
Rebekah Sager wrote this article for the Michigan Independent.
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