{"id":219747,"date":"2026-01-09T14:05:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/?post_type=press_release&#038;p=219747"},"modified":"2026-01-09T14:05:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:05:50","slug":"alabama-court-rules-against-midwives-and-birth-centers-in-challenge-to-restrictive-hospital-licensing-rules-but-case-will-continue","status":"publish","type":"press_release","link":"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/alabama-court-rules-against-midwives-and-birth-centers-in-challenge-to-restrictive-hospital-licensing-rules-but-case-will-continue","title":{"rendered":"Alabama Court Rules Against Midwives and Birth Centers in Challenge to Restrictive Hospital Licensing Rules, But Case Will Continue"},"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-219747","press_release","type-press_release","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"subheading":"Pregnant Alabamians will still be able to receive birth center-based care while this case continues.","date_and_time":"2026-01-09 14:00:00","featured_image":"","show_on_press_releases_landing_page":true,"components":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","text":{"text":"MONTGOMERY, Ala. \u2014 Today, an Alabama appeals court <a href=\"https:\/\/assets.aclu.org\/live\/uploads\/2023\/08\/2026.01.09-Order-Reversing-Lower-Court-Ruling.pdf\">ruled<\/a> that the state can require freestanding birth centers to be licensed and regulated as hospitals, potentially subjecting them to overly restrictive licensing rules that would make it effectively impossible for them to provide midwifery care in the state. The court\u2019s ruling overturns a May 2025 trial court decision in favor of the birth centers, but it will not take effect while the birth centers seek further court review. In the meantime, birth centers in the state will be able to continue providing care.\r\n\r\nFreestanding birth centers are independent facilities that provide safe, evidence-backed midwifery care to low-risk patients in a homelike setting. Since an Alabama state trial court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/alabama-court-blocks-de-facto-ban-on-birth-centers-in-case-brought-by-midwives-and-doctors\">blocked<\/a> the Alabama Department of Public Health\u2019s attempt to restrict access to birth center-provided care in September 2023, birth centers like Oasis Family Birthing Center in Birmingham and Alabama Birth Center in Huntsville have been safely operating and providing essential care for pregnant Alabamians.\r\n\r\nAs today\u2019s court decision recognized, birth centers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/09\/30\/health\/birthing-centers-alabama.html\">play an important role<\/a> in expanding access to pregnancy-related care, \u201cparticularly [for] low-income and marginalized populations who, historically, have suffered inequitable disparities\u201d in accessing care. Amid the state\u2019s maternal and infant health crisis, which disproportionately impacts Black women and families, Alabamians with low incomes, and rural communities, it is more important than ever to preserve access to these options for birth center care, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commonwealthfund.org\/publications\/issue-briefs\/2023\/may\/expanding-role-midwives-address-maternal-health-crisis\">evidence shows<\/a> is safe and improves patient outcomes, including by reducing preterm births and unnecessary cesarean sections.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe are disappointed in the Court of Civil Appeals\u2019 decision, but this isn\u2019t the end,\u201d said <strong>Whitney White, staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project<\/strong>. \u201cWe will continue to fight for pregnant Alabamians to be able to access high-quality midwifery care in birth centers without burdensome and unnecessary interference from the state. The essential care birth centers provide to Alabama families has never been more necessary than it is right now, with Alabama facing a serious maternal and infant health crisis that is disproportionately affecting Black Alabamians, those with low incomes, and rural communities. The care birth centers like Oasis Family Birth Center and Alabama Birth Center provide is a critical part of addressing this crisis and ensuring that all pregnant folks have access to high-quality, patient-centered health care.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThe opinion from the Court of Civil Appeals is disappointing, but we remain committed to ensuring that birth centers can continue providing essential healthcare in Alabama,\u201d <strong>said JaTaune Bosby-Gilchrist, the ACLU of Alabama\u2019s executive director.<\/strong> \u201cBirth centers are needed here. Midwives and doulas are needed here. And we are committed to continuing this fight on behalf of our clients and all Alabamians.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe lawsuit, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/cases\/oasis-family-birthing-center-et-al-v-alabama-department-of-public-health\">Oasis Family Birthing Center et. al. v. Alabama Department of Public Health<\/a><\/em><em>,<\/em> was originally filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Montgomery in August 2023. The plaintiffs \u2013 Oasis Family Birthing Center in Birmingham, Heather Skanes, M.D., Alabama Birth Center in Huntsville, Yashica Robinson, M.D., the Alabama affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, Jo Crawford, CPM, and Tracie Stone, CPM \u2013 are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Alabama, Covington &amp; Burling LLP, and Bobby Segall of Copeland Franco."}}],"drupal_node_id":"","email":"media@aclu.org","phone":"(212) 549-2666","address":{"address_1":"125 Broad Street","address_2":"18th Floor","city":"New York","state":"NY","zip_code":10004,"country":"United States"},"pgp_public_key":"","issues":[46701],"press_releases_related_to_cases":[135010],"spokesperson":"","related_affiliates":[363],"related_content_documents":"","related_content_publications":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>American Civil Liberties Union<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alabama Court Rules Against Midwives and Birth Centers in Challenge to Restrictive Hospital Licensing Rules, But Case Will Continue | American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/alabama-court-rules-against-midwives-and-birth-centers-in-challenge-to-restrictive-hospital-licensing-rules-but-case-will-continue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Civil Liberties Union\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@aclu\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/alabama-court-rules-against-midwives-and-birth-centers-in-challenge-to-restrictive-hospital-licensing-rules-but-case-will-continue\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/alabama-court-rules-against-midwives-and-birth-centers-in-challenge-to-restrictive-hospital-licensing-rules-but-case-will-continue\",\"name\":\"Alabama Court Rules Against Midwives and Birth Centers in Challenge to Restrictive Hospital Licensing Rules, But Case Will Continue | American Civil Liberties Union\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-09T19:05:50+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/press-releases\/alabama-court-rules-against-midwives-and-birth-centers-in-challenge-to-restrictive-hospital-licensing-rules-but-case-will-continue\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aclu.org\/\",\"name\":\"American Civil Liberties Union\",\"description\":\"The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union \u2014 beyond one person, party, or side. 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