Nurses For Justice
Pregnancy Criminalization: A Conversation with a Nurse & Lawyer
In this episode we delve into pregnancy criminalization. We are joined by Lindsey English Hull, a trained nurse in labor and delivery, and attorney with research experience in perinatal substance use, the application of fetal personhood to laws that uniquely punish and surveil pregnant people. Lindsey English Hull, RN, JD, (she/her) obtained her Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Tennessee and spent five years as a labor and delivery nurse on a high-risk obstetrics unit at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. During this time, Lindsey held multiple leadership roles, advanced numerous quality initiatives, and gained national certifications in in-patient obstetrics and electronic fetal monitoring. Despite her deep love for bedside nursing, Lindsey chose to pursue a law degree as a result of her growing disenchantment with our healthcare system and desire to advocate for positive policy changes. Lindsey obtained her J.D. from the University of Tennessee in the spring of 2020, where she had the opportunity to assist Professor Wendy Bach in researching and documenting the negative effects of Tennessee’s criminal “fetal assault” law. Upon graduation, Lindsey moved to New York City to complete a legal fellowship in reproductive justice at Pregnancy Justice, where she continued to serve as a staff attorney for the next three years - advancing policies and litigating cases that protected healthcare providers and their patients from criminal liability for their actions during pregnancy and delivery. Resources: Organizations: Pregnancy Justice If/When/How: Lawyers for Reproductive Justice Academy of Perinatal Harm Reduction Reports: Post-Dobbs Pregnancy Criminal Cases - from Pregnancy Justice Pre-Dobbs Pregnancy Criminal Cases - from Pregnancy Justice Also - check out the following courses on NSRH’s Online Institute : Criminalization of Pregnancy: Miscarriage, Infertility, and Nursing Practice in a Post-Roe America Perinatal Substance Use: Harm Reduction for Nurses Care in Crisis: Resisting Criminalization of Mental Health in Nursing Mandatory Reporting and Self Managed Abortion
