Center to Host Roundtable on Migrant Women’s Access to Maternal Health Care in the EU

Please join the Center for Reproductive Rights on May 5 at 10:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time) as it hosts a virtual roundtable on the barriers undocumented migrant women face when trying to access and afford maternal health care in the European Union (EU).

The roundtable, titled Good Practices in Guaranteeing Undocumented Women’s Access to Health Care in the EU, will be moderated by the Center’s Enid Muthoni, Senior Vice President, Global Legal Program. Katrine Thomasen, Senior Legal Adviser for Europe at the Center, will join the panel with officials from the World Health Organization (WHO), European Parliament, Office of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, and European human rights organizations.

Panelists will discuss the harmful impacts of existing legal and policy barriers in EU member states and how these impacts are exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. They will also offer recommendations to EU member states for guaranteeing undocumented migrant women access to affordable maternal health care.

The roundtable, taking place Wednesday, May 5, from 10:00 – 11:30am CEST (Central European Summer Time)/ 4:00 – 5:30 am ET (Eastern Time, US and Canada), is co-hosted by the Center and PICUM, the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants.

Register for the online program here.

Panelist Katrine Thomasen will be presenting findings from the Center’s newly updated report, Perilous Pregnancies: Barriers in Access to Affordable Maternal Health Care for Undocumented Migrant Women in the European Union.

Undocumented migrant women’s access to maternal health care

Access to equitable and affordable maternal health care is essential to protecting pregnant people’s health and lives, complying with international public health guidelines, and meeting international human rights obligations. Yet, in 16 EU member states, undocumented migrant women face significant barriers to accessing affordable care. Pregnant people who are unable to access affordable maternal health care face increased risks of poor maternal health outcomes, obstetric emergencies, and complications during childbirth.

Register for this virtual roundtable today and learn more about undocumented migrant women’s access to maternal health in the EU.

The Center’s Enid Muthoni will moderate the panel.

Read more:

• Perilous Pregnancies: Barriers in Access to Affordable Maternal Health Care for Undocumented Migrant Women in the European Union (Report by the Center for Reproductive Rights)
• The Center’s work on maternal health
• The Center’s work in Europe
• More Center events