Black midwives in Georgia are taking the state to court in a major fight over who gets to care for pregnant people and how. 

Per The Grio, midwives Jamarah Amani, Tamara Taitt, and Sarah Stokely filed a lawsuit against Georgia challenging what advocates describe as some of the most restrictive midwifery laws in the country. The suit, filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights and partner firms, was announced outside the state Capitol after lawmakers failed to pass HB520, a bill that would have largely decriminalized midwifery. 

Amani said the fight is personal. She told reporters that after a traumatic hospital experience in Georgia, she felt she had “no autonomy” and was treated “more like a prisoner than a patient.” She later became a midwife, but Georgia law made it nearly impossible for her to practice there, forcing her to train and get licensed in Florida instead. 

The lawsuit argues that the state’s rules punish midwives who practice without a nursing license with jail time and financial penalties, even if they are trained and experienced. It also says that even certified nurse midwives cannot practice independently without costly physician oversight arrangements, a barrier advocates say contributes to limited access to care. In TheGrio’s reporting, Taitt said Georgia is “visibly failing pregnant people,” especially Black women, rural families, and communities of color. 

The case shines a light on a broader maternal health crisis in Georgia. The Center for Reproductive Rights says more than half of Georgia’s counties are maternity care deserts, and that the state’s maternal death rate remains significantly above the national average. Advocates argue that expanding access to midwives is part of the solution, not the problem. As Nancy Northup of the Center for Reproductive Rights put it, “We cannot solve the maternal health crisis without midwives.” 

For Black families in particular, the stakes are even higher. This lawsuit is not just about licensure or red tape. It is about access, dignity, and the right to choose how and with whom to give birth.