Centering Maternal Health: Moving Away From Punitive Approaches to Drug Testing and Use

In follow up to our panel at the Fall Meeting and articles in the Fall Health Law Journal Issue, this Spring, the Health Law Section will be organizing two follow-up webinars that we invite you to join us for. 

Our first webinar will be on April 15, 2025, noon -1:30pm is titled “Centering Maternal health: Moving Away From Punitive Approaches to Drug Testing and Use.” During pregnancy, people expecting to give birth are tested for a host of things to ensure they and their child are healthy. This webinar explores the topic of testing persons who are expecting for illegal drugs and opioids. Are certain people who are expecting to give birth tested more frequently than others and what are the consequences of such tests? We will be joined by Molly Brachfeld of the New York Attorney General’s Office, Ann Marie Foster of Phoenix House, and Prof. Kristen Underhill of Cornell University. Come and discuss these and other topics with our panels!

Our second webinar will be on April 30, 2025, noon 1:30 and is titled “Hospital Consolidation and Maternal Health.” We will address access and quality of maternal care, including reasonable access to quality maternal wards and the critical role of midwives in overall maternal healthcare, as well as threats posed to mothers and birthing people and their newborns by mergers and restructuring of hospitals. We will be joined by Peggy Farber (New York Attorney General’s Office), Theresa Lasbrey Peters (CEO NneNna Births),  and Sunita Desai (Assistant Professor, NYU Langone School of Medicine). 

Program Chair: Andria Adigwe, Esq., Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

Health Law Section Chair: Mary Beth Quaranta Morrissey, JD, PhD, MPH, PhD Program Director, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University

These are informational programs and will not carry CLE credit. 

Registration is free. 

For registration questions or assistance, please reach out to our Member Resource Center (MRC) at mrc@nysba.org or at 800-582-2452/ 518-463-3724.

Anyone who is unable to login to their NYSBA profile online should also contact the Member Resource Center