Pregnancy Justice

Our Mission: Pregnancy Justice protects and advances pregnant people’s bodily autonomy and rights by defending those who have been criminalized, advocating for proactive policy and legal change, and shifting the public narrative. We focus on those most vulnerable to investigation, arrest, detention, or family separation related to pregnancy. This includes women and people who are poor, of color, with disabilities, do not conform to gender binary stereotypes, and/or use drugs. The criminalization of pregnancy is rooted in sexism, as it seeks to impose traditional gender norms through its attempt to undermine pregnant people’s rights and personhood. Our efforts to defend against pregnancy criminalization and punitive treatment are guided by the principles of reproductive justice, which is defined by SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective as the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. We Believe: ● That the criminal legal system and family policing system, commonly known as the “child welfare system,” should never be involved in pregnancy and pregnancy-related outcomes; ● that all people are entitled to dignity, equality, and respect; ● and that the threat of pregnancy criminalization, like the criminal legal system itself, is deeply rooted in patriarchy, racism, classism, and ableism and targets the people most marginalized by these systems. While Pregnancy Justice must operate within the criminal legal system and the family policing system, we also recognize that we must work to dismantlediscriminatory systems of oppression that impact pregnant people in the U.S. Since its founding over 20 years ago (as National Advocates for Pregnant Women), Pregnancy Justice has worked across disciplines, including reproductive rights and justice, public health, drug policy, criminal justice reform, racial justice, and prosecutorial accountability, among others, to achieve its mission.

We defend people who are charged with crimes because of pregnancy or any pregnancy outcome — includi

Goal One: Legal Advocacy: Provide criminal defense & legal representation for people who have been arrested, detained, or forced to undergo medical interventions because they are pregnant or pregnancy outcome.

Goal Two: Public Education: Wins cases and brings new constituencies to the fight for reproductive and social justice through our public education and strategic communications work.

Goal Three: Organizing: Use advocacy efforts as opportunities to empower local activists who are directly affected; to support grassroots and state based organizations; and to mobilize grasstops advocates.

We have created an annual performance review process, have shifted how we organize our meetings and supervision based on staff feedback, and have created structured seniority positions based on years at the organization and years of experience.

At Pregnancy Justice, the foremost leader in the fight against the criminalization of pregnant women, we are bracing for a dramatic increase in the prosecutions of women who experience stillbirths, miscarriages, abortions, and even healthy births after the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022. Pregnancy Justice - with only three full-time lawyers on staff - cannot represent the many women who will need knowledgeable criminal defense teams alone. Local criminal defense attorneys and medical providers will be on the frontlines of protecting the 6 million people who experience pregnancy each year from becoming targets of the criminal justice system. However, very few have any experience representing this highly specific class of people or fighting charges justified by the same ideology of fetal personhood used to restrict access to abortion. In June 2022, Pregnancy Justice debuted “Confronting Pregnancy Criminalization”, a practical guide for police, prosecutors, child welfare workers, medical examiners, and policymakers. These discipline-specific guidelines equip professionals with knowledge about the realities of pregnancy-based prosecutions, as well as the power they have to disrupt this cycle of criminalization. Pregnancy Justice organized targeted training sessions for criminal defense attorneys to learn how to prepare strong cases and the science needed to fight pregnancy-related prosecutions and healthcare providers on how to keep medical information out of the hands of law enforcement. Pregnancy Justice expanded partnerships with pro bono counsel and criminal defense networks at the state level that will expand our reach across the country. These guides, multidisciplinary hands-on trainings, and a growing network will provide the tools that tens of thousands of people need to provide the support, care, and protection that pregnant people deserve during such a vulnerable time in their lives.