As outlined in our philosophy statement, National Midwifery Institute supports and upholds the rights of pregnant persons to define their own needs and, through informed consent, to make decisions regarding their reproductive health care. Abortion is a part of reproductive health care, and reproductive health care is a human right.
A marathon, not a sprint
We recognize that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization impacts each member of our community in unique ways. As a virtual program with students, staff, instructors, and graduates in numerous states and countries, our primary concern is for the safety and wellbeing of each member of our community, their families, and the clients they serve.
There are several members of our community who live in areas where abortion has already been criminalized, even prior to this ruling, and where care providers and pregnant people experience great risk and harm providing and receiving abortion and other reproductive health care.
While we are experiencing an acute shift in the broader legality of abortion in the United States, the fight for reproductive justice, access to reproductive health care, and the wellbeing of all birthing people and their families has been ongoing and will continue into the future. We encourage our students to seek out and join those fighting for equitable, just health care. We are gathering resources as a staff team and will share them as we are able. You can also follow our stories on our main NMI Facebook and Instagram pages where we amplify the ongoing, established work of BIPOC, members of the LGBTQAI++ community, and others who are fighting for reproductive justice.
Our role as educators
Our purpose as a midwifery school is to prepare midwives for the scope of practice outlined by the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) core competencies, the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) certification guidelines, state licensure requirements and the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) International Definition of the Midwife.
While much abortion care is not within the scope of the CPM, our competencies are based upon foundational concepts of informed-consent, individualized care, health equity, and reproductive justice. We will continue to teach all competencies necessary for meeting our accreditation standards, including those related to appropriate counseling, referral, and care of clients for therapeutic and inevitable abortion services.
In addition, we support the following statements from the ICM Code of Ethics (*all genders give birth):
Midwives support the right of women/[people]/families to participate actively in decisions about their care.
Midwives empower women/[people]/families to speak for themselves on issues affecting the health of women/[people] and families within their culture/society.
Midwives, together with [their clients], work with policy and funding agencies to define [their client’s] needs for health services and to ensure that resources are fairly allocated considering priorities and availability.
Responsibilities of a Midwife (*all genders give birth)
Midwives may decide not to participate in activities for which they hold deep moral opposition; however, the emphasis on individual conscience should not deprive [people] of essential health services.
Midwives with conscientious objection to a given service request will refer the [person] to another provider where such a service can be provided.
Midwives understand the adverse consequences that ethical and human rights violations have on the health of women, [people], and infants, and will work to eliminate these violations.
Midwives participate in the development and implementation of health policies that promote the health of all women, [people], and childbearing families.
As each of you reflect on the implications of Dobbs in your own lives and practices as birth workers and future midwives, please take care of yourselves and extend compassion to those who are also deeply impacted.
