The Pregnancy Police: Healthcare Provider Involvement in Criminalizing Pregnancy

• In Event: Backlash: Moves Against Gender Equality in the Modern Age

Abstract

This paper explores the intimate relationship between law enforcement and healthcare providers in the so-called criminalization of pregnancy. Throughout the United States, hundreds of women have been arrested and charged with crimes for endangering their pregnancies. My prior research has indicated that in the majority of these cases, healthcare providers served as an initial point of contact between their patients and law enforcement. Doctors and nurses reported pregnant patients to law enforcement, and through the provision of medical care, collected evidence to be used against their patients in legal proceedings. In this paper, I will present and discuss my analysis of interviews with healthcare providers who report their pregnant patients for pregnancy endangerment. Some questions to be addressed include: As the criminal justice system expands into the healthcare setting, how do doctors and nurses consider their responsibility to provide care and to protect patient privacy? How are healthcare providers coping with policies that turn the provision of care into a criminal investigation? How do attitudes about motherhood and fetal personhood influence healthcare provider involvement in law enforcement action against their patients?

Author

• Grace Elizabeth Howard, Rutgers University