Assemblymember Mia Bonta Sends Bill to Protect Alternative Birth Centers to the Governor

SACRAMENTO – Today, AB 55, authored by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland), Chair of the Assembly Health Committee, was sent to the Governor’s desk after passing its final vote on the Assembly floor. If signed into law, AB 55, the Freedom to Birth Act, would serve as a lifeline for the few birth centers still open across the state of California.

“AB 55 is a crucial step to address the maternal health crisis. Licensed birth centers consistently deliver improved outcomes for newborn and maternal health, and they should not be driven to closure by state requirements that are irrelevant to patient safety and only drive up prices for providers and families,” said Assemblymember Mia Bonta. “Californians are facing fewer and fewer choices in where to give birth, and this bill will fill much-needed gaps, particularly for our Black and Indigenous pregnant patients in need of accessible, culturally concordant care.” 

California is home to over 38 million people, but it is down to a mere handful of licensed birth centers as the process has failed to become standardized over the past 30 years. Only one facility has been licensed since the guidance was last updated in 2018. Currently, licensure requires persistence, extended periods of time, and substantial financial investment. As such, roughly 27 facilities have chosen to operate without a state license, making them available only to those with select insurance or the ability to pay out of pocket. However, Alternative Birth Centers have been found to improve newborn birth rates, decrease the rate of cesarean birth, promote successful breastfeeding, save money, and even decrease racial health disparities. 

“Western Center on Law and Poverty is pleased that the Legislature recognized the importance of AB 55 and, with strong bipartisan support, passed the bill, which now heads to the Governor for his signature. The reforms proposed in AB 55 are long overdue. This legislation represents a principled and practical step toward aligning California’s maternity care system with the needs, experiences, and values of the families it serves. By supporting AB 55, policymakers have affirmed the rights of pregnant and birthing individuals, and to promote safer, more respectful, and more equitable birth experiences for all Californians,” said Sandra Poole, Health Policy Advocate, Western Center on Law and Poverty.

Free-standing birth centers have been found to not only improve health outcomes but also save over $2,000 in cost savings to Medicaid for every mother/baby when compared to typical care. These facilities are a needed piece of the healthcare puzzle as over 50 labor and delivery wards have closed in California hospitals in the past decade, and twelve counties, primarily rural, have been left with no hospitals to deliver babies.

“As AB 55 makes its way to the Governor’s desk, it’s important to remember that this bill will ensure that perinatal care for California’s families is more accessible. This bill is particularly critical for birthing people living in communities where there are maternity ward deserts. These deserts decrease patient safety and limit access to high-quality maternal healthcare,” said Kimberly Robinson, Black Women for Wellness. “We urge Governor Newsom to sign AB 55 into law. It’s time for California to address the maternity care crisis that we face and put laws in place to ensure that we have equitable access to maternal healthcare for all.”

AB 55 is supported by:

• American Association of Birth Centers – California Chapter (co-sponsor)

• Black Women for Wellness Action Project (co-sponsor)

• California Association of Licensed Midwives (co-sponsor)

• California Black Women’s Health Project (co-sponsor)

• California Nurse-Midwives Association (co-sponsor) 

• Western Center on Law & Poverty, Inc. (co-sponsor)

• Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists District IX

• American Nurses Association/California

• Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Southern California

• Black Women Organized for Political Action

• California Black Health Network

• California Black Power Network

• California Catholic Conference

• California Health Coalition Advocacy

• California Latinas for Reproductive Justice

• California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network

• California Medical Association

• California Native Vote Project

• California Pan-Ethnic Network

• California Physician’s Alliance

• California WIC Association

• California Women’s Law Center

• Californians for the Advancement of Midwifery

• Citizens for Choice

• Community Legal Aid SoCal

• Courage California 

• End Child Poverty California

• Essential Access Health

• First 5 California 

• Green Policy Initiative 

• Health Access California

• Hispanas Organized for Political Equality

• If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice

• Indivisible CA: StateStrong

• Initiate Justice

• Latino Coalition for a Healthy California

• Local Health Plans of California

• National Health Law Program

• Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California

• Public Law Center

• Reproductive Freedom for All California

• San Francisco Bay Area Black & Jewish Unity Coalition

• South Sacramento Christian Center

• United Nurses Association of California / Union of Health Care Professionals

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Assemblymember Mia Bonta represents California’s 18^th Assembly District encompassing the East Bay including Oakland, Alameda, and Emeryville. She also chairs the Assembly Health Committee.

Courtesy photos can be found HERE.