About this episode

This episode discusses a woman's experience with a judge intervening in her labor decisions and the implications for patient rights.

She was 12 hours into labor when a nurse walked in carrying a tablet - and a judge appeared on the screen to decide what would happen to her body. This isn't a social media horror story. This happened in Florida, in 2026, to a woman who was not only informed - she was a doula . She had a prior C-section complicated by a dangerous hemorrhage. Refusing another surgery wasn't a whim. It was a medical decision she had every right to make. And a judge overruled her anyway. In this episode, we're getting into all of it: what your rights actually are, where they get murky, and the three things I want you to do before you ever go into labor - because when you're in labor, your job is to labor. In this episode: What actually happened in Florida - and why the details matter The difference between informed refusal and an unsafe one (these are not the same thing) Why "rights on paper" and what happens at 3 AM in a hospital room aren't always the same Why I call it a birth map , not a birth plan - and why this story is why I prefer a map over a plan The three things to do before labor Why the advocacy piece is non-negotiable, especially for Black women, who are far more likely to have their…

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