ASSOCIATE DEAN JILL C. ENGLE'S ARTICLE ON MATERNAL HEALTH PUBLISHED IN VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL POLICY & LAW
June 2025—Professor of Clinical Law and Associate Dean of DEIB Jill C. Engle has published her most recent article, "Birth on Mother Earth: Mitigating the Maternal Health Crisis," in the University of Virginia's Journal of Social Policy and the Law. You can find the article here.
The article is the first to fully explore the unique skillset of traditional birth attendants (TBAs), midwives trained in their Indigenous or other traditional cultures to assist with childbirth. It argues that state and local midwifery laws should include recognition of TBAs, as a few state regulations have recently done. It also explains the correlations between the maternal health crisis and the climate crisis.
Finally, Engle discusses the ways that legally recognizing TBAs can disrupt systemic inequities and improve maternal health. The article also explores the importance of TBAs' deep respect for the interconnectedness of people and of the environment in the birthing process, describing the links to the environmental justice, reproductive justice, and emerging “birthing justice” movements."
The article citation is 32 Va. J. Soc. Pol'y & L. 54 (2025).
Jill C. Engle is professor of clinical law and associate dean of DEIB at Penn State Dickinson Law. Previously, she was director of Penn State Law’s Family Law Clinic, which represents clients in domestic violence and other family law cases, and was the associate dean for academic affairs from 2019 to 2022. The clinic also does policy work for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, among other organizations. Professor Engle’s scholarship examines gender-based violence, economic inequality, international human rights, racial justice, and best practices in legal education.