; Whereas some States have criminalized and suppressed direct-entry midwives, despite rising maternal mortality rates across the United States; Whereas the resurgence of Black midwifery is a testament to the resilience, resistance, and determination of spirit in the preservation of healing modalities that are practiced all over the world; Whereas the focus of Black midwifery on holistic care, which involves caring for the whole person, family and community, is what makes a difference in midwifery; Whereas midwifery honors the right to bodily autonomy for the birthing person and can be facilitated at home, in a birth center, or hospital by working in tandem with doulas, community health workers, obstetricians, pediatricians, and other maternal, reproductive, and perinatal health care providers; Whereas the Midwifery Model of Care has been proven to have better pregnancy outcomes, including by reducing infant mortality and morbidity, preterm births, reducing medical interventions, and providing the birthing person continuous support; Whereas, in 2022, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (referred to in this preamble as CERD ) of the United Nations expressed concerns regarding the impact of systemic racism and intersecting factors on access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for women, and the limited availability of culturally sensitive and respectful maternal health care, particularly for those with low incomes, rural residents, individuals of African descent, and indigenous communities; Whereas CERD recommended that the United States further develop policies and programs to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in the field of sexual and reproductive health and rights, while integrating an intersectional and culturally respectful approach in order to reduce the high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity affecting racial and ethnic minorities, including through midwifery care