ROSE is an Atlanta-based, nonprofit organization that works to increase access to breastfeeding support and improve healthcare equity among African-American communities in Georgia and around the country. Founded in 2011, ROSE is a leader in training healthcare providers and community organizations to provide support, encouragement and clinical care to increase the rates of breastfeeding among minorities. ROSE engages in activities such as educating the public about the general benefits of breastfeeding, training healthcare providers, training “community transformers” on how to lead local breastfeeding clubs and advocating for policies that support breastfeeding. Members and supporters of ROSE include healthcare professionals, volunteer counselors, new and expecting moms, and community leaders. Many of ROSE’s educators will be negatively affected by the Act because they will no longer be able to do lactation counseling for pay. As a result, new mothers, particularly in rural and disadvantaged communities, will soon lose access to lactation counseling. Doctors will no longer be able to hire or refer patients to non-IBCLC certified consultants. ROSE itself will also be injured, as it will no longer be able to pay non-IBCLC lactation consultants to provide community-based breastfeeding support, endangering its community programming.
Related Case
Economic Liberty | Health | Occupational Licensing
Georgia Lactation Consultants
For decades, Mary Jackson has worked as a lactation consultant, helping new moms and babies during a critical time in their lives. Then one day, Georgia passed the nation’s most restrictive licensing regime for lactation…