07/20/2026
Clients, friends of midwifery and supporters of homebirth choice, please be sure to follow Birth Freedom Pa’s page and blog and the midwives organization at MAP to stay updated on events in PA community-birth and midwifery laws. Here are some especially important events that have happened over the past week.
MAP Statement on the Repeal of the 1929 Midwife Regulation Law
The Midwives Alliance of Pennsylvania (MAP) wishes to inform our members and the public of an important legislative development affecting community-based midwifery in Pennsylvania.
For decades, discussions surrounding community-based midwifery have often referenced Pennsylvania’s Midwife Regulation Law of 1929. In 2026, however, the legal landscape changed significantly through two separate acts of the General Assembly.
First, in May 2026, Act 14 of 2026 (formerly SB 507) modernized Pennsylvania’s Medical Practice Act by creating a licensure pathway for Certified Midwives. Equally important, the General Assembly included an exclusion stating that the Medical Practice Act does not authorize, prohibit, or regulate direct-entry, lay, or traditional birth attendants.
That exclusion did not happen by accident. Throughout the legislative process, members of MAP’s current Board worked extensively with legislators, legislative staff, state agencies, and other stakeholders to educate policymakers about the diversity of Pennsylvania’s community-based midwives and the importance of preserving traditional, apprenticeship, faith-based, cultural, and direct-entry pathways. Those efforts helped secure language recognizing that these birth attendants fall outside the new Medical Practice Act licensing framework.
Just two months later, on July 12, 2026, the General Assembly enacted Act 21, which expressly repealed the Midwife Regulation Law of 1929. Act 21 also prohibits State Board of Medicine licensure funds from being used to issue licenses or certificates under that former law.
Taken together, these legislative actions present an important question: If the General Assembly chose to repeal the 1929 Midwife Regulation Law, what statutory language now speaks most directly to the status of community-based midwifery in Pennsylvania?
MAP believes the answer begins with the language the General Assembly chose to preserve.
While repealing the 1929 law, the legislature did not repeal or modify the exclusion enacted in Act 14. That exclusion remains part of Pennsylvania law and expressly states that the Medical Practice Act does not authorize, prohibit, or regulate direct-entry, lay, or traditional birth attendants.
For MAP, that exclusion has become increasingly significant. With the repeal of the Midwife Regulation Law of 1929, the legislature’s express statement regarding direct-entry, lay, and traditional birth attendants now stands as one of the clearest statutory expressions addressing community-based midwifery. The courts—not MAP—will ultimately determine the legal effect of these legislative changes, but the language adopted by the General Assembly deserves careful consideration.
These developments also affected the pending Commonwealth Court litigation. After Act 21 became law, the anonymous midwives/plaintiffs amended their petition and sought emergency relief to prevent enforcement of the repeal. The Commonwealth Court declined to grant that request, meaning Act 21 remains in effect while the litigation proceeds.
MAP believes this legislative evolution presents an opportunity to move beyond reliance on a statute enacted nearly a century ago and to work toward thoughtful, modern public policy that recognizes the diversity of Pennsylvania’s community-based midwives. Our profession includes traditional, apprenticeship-trained, faith-based, cultural, Certified Professional Midwife (CPM), and other direct-entry pathways that have long served families throughout the Commonwealth.
MAP remains committed to protecting informed choice, preserving diverse educational pathways, strengthening collaboration, and ensuring that Pennsylvania families continue to have meaningful access to community-based maternity care. We will continue working with legislators, state agencies, and the midwifery community to advocate for policies that reflect the realities of modern community-based midwifery while providing accurate, fact-based updates as this litigation proceeds.
