In upstate New York, “plain communities” face an unexpected fight: defending their midwives from felony charges. Elaine Epstein’s film is an intimate portrait and an inspiring call to action, highlighting systemic failures that criminalize care while maternal mortality soars.
The film centers 54-year-old Liz Caitlin, a mother of 14 and exceedingly experienced midwife charged with 95 felonies, including one tied to a newborn’s death. Forced to sell her home in upstate New York – considered a material care desert – for legal fees, she becomes the face of a larger crisis. Midwifery has existed for millennia, yet today, the practice is existentially threatened by escalating requirements and invasive, harmful restrictions.
The effects of America’s growing erasure of female reproductive rights are devastating. Maternal mortality rates have doubled in the U.S. since 2014, with Black and brown women dying at exponentially higher rates, cited as 8 to 12 times more than white women. As noted in the film, 22,000 more midwives are needed to meet WHO recommendations. One community member sums it up: “It’s all men determining outcomes for women in the state.”
With rare, intimate access to Mennonite and Amish communities in both New York and Pennsylvania (where midwifery is more supported), Epstein captures the warmth of home births, bathed in soft focus, and the chilling consequences of bureaucratic meddling. Expert voices, namely the midwives and their patients, link the fight to America’s broader war on reproductive rights, where lobbyists stall bills and hospitals prioritize profits. Boiled down, bodily autonomy remains under siege. By subject, this documentary is intense, sure, but Epstein takes a gentle and steady approach – perhaps a nod to the birthing people, newborns, and “plain” communities she’s highlighting. This is a snapshot of a crucial period in history.
As explained during the post-screening Q&A, the lovely score, composed by music editor Allyson Newman, channels the grit and heroism of the women at the film’s center. Arrest the Midwife shines a light on two religious communities unexpectedly becoming “monkey in the middle,” with their chosen Certified Practicing Midwives routinely arrested for helping deliver their babies while, on the other side, government bodies (seemingly) arbitrarily increase certification and education requirements with impunity. “Women have been helping women give birth since the beginning of time,” one Mennonite woman reminds.
This documentary challenges assumptions, urging viewers to rethink who controls birth – and why. “We’re in a time where things are pretty bad and it’s easy to want to bury our heads,” Epstein said. “But we have so much to learn from the Mennonites.” With backsliding rights, their quietly growing activism is a powerful reminder: “If they can fight, so can we.”
Screens again Tuesday, March 11 and Thursday, March 13.
Arrest the Midwife
Documentary Feature Competition, World Premiere
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This article appears in March 14 • 2025.