A group of reproductive health advocates is challenging a series of state laws that restrict the practice of midwifery in Georgia, arguing that the state unfairly limits a sector of maternal health providers who could help improve access to maternal care.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Fulton County Superior Court, highlights Georgia’s high maternal mortality rate, widespread provider shortages and racial disparities in health outcomes, and argues that Georgia’s current rules — which they say are among the strictest in the country — give doctors too much control over midwives’ ability to practice in the state.
“If not for these restrictions, I could be helping to meet the urgent gaps in maternity care,” said Tamara Taitt, a plaintiff in the lawsuit and the executive director of the Atlanta Birth Center, during a press conference Thursday outside the state Capitol. “Instead, Georgia is choosing to leave skilled and committed workforce on the sidelines, even as communities struggle to access care.”
More than two dozen states currently allow certified nurse-midwives to practice with full independence, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But in Georgia, certified nurse-midwives are only permitted to practice in partnership with a physician, which advocates say imposes a steep financial barrier on many midwives.
“Often physicians charge hundreds of dollars a month, $1,000 a month, for that contract,” said attorney Hillary Schneller with the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing the plaintiffs in their lawsuit. For many midwives, she added the cost of maintaining that agreement “is just financially unsustainable.”
“These are a continuation of a legacy of laws that pushed midwives out that were never about safety,” Schneller added. “What we have now is not working, and we know across the world that integrating midwives results in fewer unnecessary interventions and better outcomes.” State Rep. Park Cannon. Maya Homan/Georgia Recorder
A separate category of providers who train as midwives without having first gone to nursing school are prohibited from practicing at all. A bill that advocates say would have removed restrictions against the practice, known as direct-entry midwifery, failed to gain traction this year and is unlikely to pass before the Legislature adjourns later today.
“Today marks the last day that the bills related to midwifery care could pass,” said Rep. Park Cannon, an Atlanta Democrat and doula who spoke at Friday’s press conference. “So we still remind legislators, you have about 12 hours to get on board. Otherwise, get on board with this lawsuit.”
The Recorder has reached out to the Georgia attorney general’s office for comment.
Georgia’s 2026 legislative session ends Thursday, meaning bills must pass both chambers in order to get the chance at being signed into law this year.
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.
Maya Homan | Georgia Recorder
Maya Homan is a politics reporter based in Atlanta. Most recently, she covered the 2024 presidential election and Georgia state politics for USA TODAY and its network papers. She is a graduate of Northeastern University, and before moving to Georgia, she spent two years at the Boston Globe covering breaking news, arts and features.
