Press Releases

Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) today joined the Democratic Women’s Caucus and over 150 House Democratic colleagues in urging the Biden-Harris Administration to protect Americans from the criminalization of their pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes, in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

“We write to bring to your attention the longstanding pattern of criminalization of people on the basis of their pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes that has intensified in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” wrote the members in a letter.

“We urge you to provide all legal and medical support available within your respective authorities to prevent the criminalization of pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes,” continued the members.

The letter specifically calls on the White House, Department of Justice, and Department of Health and Human Services to: 

• Investigate any prosecutions of people’s pregnancy or pregnancy outcomes as an unlawful form of sex discrimination, which includes discrimination on the basis of pregnancy;
• Make clear hospital and medical staff’s obligations to maintain patient privacy and investigate any potential violations of that privacy;
• Enforce Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination in health care, against any federally-funded health care provider whose staff improperly report patients pregnancies or pregnancy outcomes to law enforcement.

The letter comes amidst a growing pattern of women facing criminal charges related to their pregnancies and pregnancy outcomes, including Brittany Watts, an Ohio woman who was unjustly charged with a felony crime related to her miscarriage late last year. This alarming pattern, which disproportionately targets people of color, risks deterring people from accessing essential health care unless decisive action is taken. 

“When individuals like Ms. Watts cannot seek medical care for pregnancy-related conditions without fear of discrimination and criminalization, our health care system and our justice system have failed,” wrote the Members. “Systemic racism, implicit bias, unequal access to quality care, and inequities in social determinants of health have facilitated a system where women of color are more likely to experience pregnancy complications and be punished more often for seeking health care.”

The letter has been endorsed by: National Women’s Law Center, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Center for Reproductive Rights, Physicians for Reproductive Health, If/When/How, Pregnancy Justice, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda.

Read the full letter here.

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