FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | May 5, 2026
Contact: Sarah Fulton (302) 401-1114
DOVER — In observance of May as Maternal Mental Health Month, State Senator Marie Pinkney and Delaware House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown filed legislation to support laboring patients and ensure continuity of care if they should be discharged from a hospital before giving birth.
“We have seen a growing number of national headlines and viral videos of laboring patients not receiving the care they deserve. As a healthcare professional, I inherently understand that medical providers approach their job with the desire to help and to heal. Yet far too frequently, we hear of traumatic stories involving a Black woman whose reports of symptoms or pain were discounted while they were seeking care in a hospital setting,” said Sen. Pinkney. “All patients deserve to be listened to and trusted, which is why we’re filing this legislation. In Delaware, we are fortunate to be able to have meaningful conversations with our local hospital leaders on tough issues like this, and I want to thank them for hearing our concerns.”
Senate Bill 301 would require that a hospital create a discharge plan if a pregnant patient who is experiencing signs or symptoms consistent with labor is discharged before delivery. This requirement to create a discharge plan applies to patients discharged from either in-patient treatment or observation status and must contain all of the following:
1. Aftercare instructions and guidelines and that these instructions and guidelines were explained to the patient, patient’s agent, or patient’s lay caregiver.
2. An assessment of travel distance and time between the primary residence of the patient and the hospital.
3. Verification of reliable transportation between the primary residence of the patient and the hospital.
4. Identification of a back-up hospital or facility at which the patient may obtain labor and delivery services.
Upon its passage, the Delaware Department of Health & Social Services would be responsible for the regulation and enforcement of SB 301.
This legislation is modeled after the “Women Expansion of Learning and Labor Safety” or WELLS Act, H.R. 7830, which was introduced in Congress by U.S. Representative Robin Kelly on March 5, 2026. The WELLS Act is named after Mercedes Wells, a Black woman who was forced to give birth on the side of the road minutes after being discharged from a hospital while in active labor.
“In the wealthiest nation in the world, no mother should be forced to give birth on the side of a road,” said U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee who will introduce the Senate companion bill to the WELLS Act later this spring. “From the federal to state level, we must do everything we can to address the maternal health crisis impacting Black women across America. I applaud Senator Pinkney for introducing this legislation, and I am grateful to have a partner like her in fighting to ensure Black women get the health care they deserve.”
SB 301 has been assigned to the Senate Health & Social Services Committee and will be considered by the General Assembly before the end of the legislative session on June 30.
“We know our bodies better than anyone else,” said Speaker Minor-Brown, House prime sponsor of the legislation. “When a pregnant woman is in pain or feels that something isn’t right, and goes to the hospital for help, she should not be denied care. At the very least, she should feel comfortable going home. By providing a discharge plan for pregnant patients that ensures they have aftercare instructions, a transportation plan, and a backup hospital, we are closing a gap that has led to far too many mothers and babies dying, or nearly dying.”
The state lawmakers applaud Sen. Blunt Rochester and Rep. Kelly for their advocacy on the federal level, and are using their efforts as an opportunity to mirror the congressional legislation — continuing the Delaware General Assembly’s legacy of securing state protections for Delawareans seeking care when the federal government falls short.
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