A court-ordered cesarean birth is a forced medical procedure that represents an egregious escalation of rhetoric surrounding fetal personhood and a dangerous precedent to further erode an individual’s bodily autonomy and human rights.
The decision to undergo a repeat cesarean birth is one in which health care providers must prioritize patient wishes and preferences in a process of shared decision making. The condition of pregnancy or labor alone should not inhibit a birthing person’s right to choose their own medical care or refuse it.
Ultimately, forcing a pregnant person to undergo unwanted medical treatment is a violation of their right to make medical decisions. The rise of fetal personhood rhetoric undermines the experiences, needs, and desires of individuals with the capacity to become pregnant. Instead of governments wielding power in favor of fetal personhood over individual autonomy, governments must protect their citizens by cultivating environments where individuals can achieve optimal health through the equitable distribution of high-quality, person-centered resources and services. Forced birthing practices have no place in a civil society that boasts of freedom. Without a clear departure from such inhumane practices, women and other birthing people will continue to be harmed, with disproportionate impacts to Black mothers and their families.
We condemn any decision by Florida courts, health care providers, and hospitals to violate the bodily autonomy of women and birthing people. We condemn the dehumanizing treatment of Brianna Bennett and Cherise Doyley. Policy is needed to protect the bodily autonomy of pregnant persons to choose if, when, and how they parent (or not parent) and give birth. Anything less is reproductive injustice.
The time to act is now. Use your voice and share your perspective by joining us for a community conversation and roundtable talk to identify reparative solutions and actionable steps to protect the bodily autonomy of Black mothers and pregnant capable people. Find more information and register here: https://tinyurl.com/BMHW26-StateOfBMH
Take Action:
State of Black Maternal Health: Community Conversation & Roundtable Talk
Thursday, April 16th, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
University Of Tampa
401 W Kennedy Blvd Tampa, FL 33606
In the News
A Crisis in Plain Sight: Abortion Bans and Rising Risks for Black Women in the Southeast
Nicole McCurdy
In the years since the Dobbs decision overturned federal protections for abortion, consequences have spread not just to courtrooms and state legislatures, but to emergency rooms, jail cells, and labor and delivery units — especially in the South. Many anti-abortion opponents and lawmakers frame abortion bans as moral victories rooted in faith and a commitment to “protecting life.” But for Black women like me, the lived reality tells a different story: one where policy, inequity, and selective moral concern collide with devastating, deadly consequences.
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Abortion Bans in Florida
In Georgia, cases involving pregnancy loss have already drawn scrutiny from law enforcement. The recent arrest of a Black woman charged with murder after allegedly taking abortion pills signals a broader shift toward criminalization. Pregnancy outcomes are no longer treated solely as medical events, but as potential evidence. Not to mention, it is not legal to prosecute abortion patients under current Georgia law. SHAME. This kind of indictment creates fear, and fear changes behavior, delays care, silences symptoms, and increases risk. Nowhere is the expansion of state control more visible than in my home state of Florida.
In a recent investigation, ProPublica documented how courts have intervened directly in childbirth decisions, ordering pregnant women to undergo cesarean sections against their will. Cherise Doyley, a Black doula in Florida, was in active labor when hospital staff brought a video call via tablet to her bedside so she could appeal before a judge. She had no lawyer and no time to prepare. The state had filed an emergency petition to override her refusal of a C-section. WTF?
Doyley had previously undergone three C-sections, including one that resulted in a hemorrhage. She made it clear that she did not want another. Doyley expressed that C-sections are inherently risky, citing “medical negligence and medical racism, where we have a group of white doctors that think that they know what is best for Black bodies and Black babies.”
Despite Doyley’s pleas, the decision was no longer hers. In the virtual hearing, she looked at a screen filled with medical professionals and legal authorities, most of them white, and said, “I have 20 white people against me, trying to take my rights away by force.”