Criminalization of Midwives in SC
top of page
Search

Criminalization of Midwives in SC

Midwifery in Labor: Struggling Under the Weight of Criminalization of Midwifery Care in South Carolina

The professional landscape for South Carolina midwives has shifted overnight from a regulated healthcare system to a 'punishment by process,' where providers are being stripped of their livelihoods and arrested without the peer review or due process guaranteed by state law.

1. The Legal Foundation: Midwifery is NOT Medicine

The state is currently charging midwives with "practicing medicine without a license," but South Carolina’s own legal definitions and the Office of the Attorney General say otherwise.

  • Statutory Definition (SC Code § 44-89-30): Midwifery is the application of scientific principles in the care of "with woman" care during uncomplicated pregnancy, birth, and puerperium. It is a distinct profession from medicine.

  • The 2018 Attorney General Opinion: A formal opinion from the SC Attorney General explicitly affirms that the Department of Public Health (DPH) has the sole authority to license and regulate midwives under Regulation 60-24.

  • The Argument: The AG's office recognizes midwifery as a legally protected and regulated field. Therefore, treating a licensed midwife as an "unlicensed doctor" is a direct contradiction of the state's highest legal authority.

2. The Collapse of Due Process (Regulation 60-24)

Under the standards that the AG’s office affirmed, the DPH must follow a specific protocol for complaints—a protocol that is currently being ignored.

  • The Ethics Committee Requirement: Regulation 60-24 mandates a committee for peer review and ethics. This body MUST be consulted on questions of competency and performance before a license is suspended.

  • Bypassing the Law: Instead of peer review, the state is moving straight to DPH hearings, Administrative Court, SLED investigations and criminal arrests. By bypassing the Midwifery Advisory Council, the state denies midwives a fair hearing and prevents their legal teams from accessing critical peer-review evidence.

3. The Weaponization of "Bad Outcomes"

Birth is a natural, physiological process. While South Carolina midwives are trained to prioritize safety, not every pregnancy is compatible with life. Historically, rare and tragic outcomes were handled through peer review and departmental inquiry. Now, they are being treated as crimes.

  • Criminalizing Success: Under Section 44-89-60, a midwife’s legal duty is to identify complications and transfer care to a hospital. A successful transfer is an act of professional competence, yet midwives are being met with SLED investigations following these transfers.

  • Ignoring Medical Reality: Even when a Coroner determines a death was due to natural causes, the state has pursued charges of Involuntary Manslaughter or Unlawful Neglect.

  • The AG’s Stance: Because the 2018 Attorney General Opinion recognizes midwifery as a regulated profession, these providers should be judged by the clinical standards of their peers (via the Ethics Committee), not by law enforcement officers with no medical training.

4. The Administrative Error Trap

Perhaps the most disturbing trend is the use of the legal system to punish paperwork discrepancies—many of which are caused by the Department of Public Health (DPH) itself.

  • Departmental Failure: In one documented instance, the DPH lost a midwife’s renewal application. Instead of correcting the internal error, they forced her to reapply as a "new" midwife and used the resulting "lapse" to justify a criminal arrest for practicing without a license.

  • The "Practice of Medicine" Fallacy: As noted in the 2018 AG Opinion, midwives are licensed under a specific health regulation (Regulation 60-24). An administrative lapse in this license is a civil matter. Arresting a midwife for "practicing medicine without a license" during a paperwork delay is a gross misapplication of the law.

  • Non-Existent Crimes: One Midwife was arrested for "practicing midwifery without a license"—a charge that does not exist as a statutory crime in the South Carolina Code.

5. A Community in Danger

According to the March of Dimes, South Carolina has been identified as having maternity care deserts, where access to obstetric care is limited or absent.." By targeting midwives, the state is:

  • Reducing Vital Options: Driving regulated providers out of the profession through the "punishment of the process."

  • Increasing Risk: Forcing midwifery into the shadows does not make birth safer; it removes the oversight and regulation that the Attorney General affirmed as necessary for public health.

6. The 2018 Attorney General’s Protection

The most significant shield for the South Carolina midwifery community is the January 18, 2018, South Carolina Attorney General Opinion.

In this formal opinion, the State's highest legal office affirmed that:

  • The Department of Public Health has the sole authority to regulate midwives under Regulation 60-24.

  • Midwifery is a legally recognized profession with a history dating back to 1919.

  • The attempt to reclassify midwifery as "unlicensed medicine" ignores a century of established administrative law.

7. The Call to Action: Restoring Justice

When the state ignores its own regulations and the Attorney General’s guidance, the safety of all South Carolina families is at risk. We must demand accountability.

  • Demand Due Process: We call for the immediate recognition of the Ethics Committee for all pending disciplinary cases, as required by Regulation 60-24.

  • End Criminalization: Administrative errors and natural birth outcomes must be handled through civil peer review, not SLED investigations and handcuffs.

  • Contact Your Legislators: Remind them that South Carolina is a maternal health "drought area" and that these aggressive tactics are driving safe, qualified providers out of our state. https://www.scstatehouse.gov/legislatorssearch.php 

The Bottom Line: Midwifery is protected by the South Carolina Code and the Attorney General. When we allow administrative errors to be treated as felonies, we aren't just losing midwives—we are losing our right to choose how we bring life into this world.


CONSUMERS UNITED TO SUPPORT MIDWIVES;



 
 
 
bottom of page