On Monday, June 10, Indigenous Hawai’ian midwives took the witness stand in a humble Honolulu courtroom, testifying for the very first time in opposition of Hawai’i’s Midwifery Restriction Law.
The law, passed in 2019, regulates midwifery care by mandating a specific state license for anyone who provides information, advice or assistance during a pregnancy, birth or the postpartum period. As a result, Indigenous midwives who have long served their rural communities face significant fines and jail time for providing traditional, apprentice-based care that aligns with and protects customary Hawai’ian birth practices.
The law is now being challenged in the First Circuit Court of Hawai’i by the very midwives the regulation has effectively stifled, and with the assistance of litigators from the Center for Reproductive Rights…