On Nov. 16, 2018, what seemed like an innocuous police brief from State Police was published in the Finger Lakes Times. Items like this appear routinely and are, simply, a more detailed explanation than what you read in the “Police Beat” we publish daily.

About a month later, on Dec. 18, a second news brief was published saying the same woman had been indicted on 95 criminal counts, including criminally negligent homicide, related to the death of a child. The criminally negligent homicide charge is a class E felony, on its own punishable by up to four years in state prison. In total, the woman could have faced decades in prison if convicted on all charges, which were the result of a joint investigation by State Police, the state Education Department, and the Yates County District Attorney’s Office.

Little could anyone have predicted that the arrest and story of Elizabeth Joy Catlin, then 52, of Potter would later appear in The New York Times (February 2019) and other newspapers nationally.

Elizabeth’s story culminated with a documentary about her history in midwifery that was made in 2025.

Thirty-eight states allow for certified midwives, while 12 require a master’s degree. New York State falls in the latter category and deems those with certified professional midwife status as breaking the law when helping women have a child in a home environment. Consider that home births themselves are legal in New York.

The documentary, “Arrest the Midwife,” an independent film by Elaine Epstein, has been playing at many of the top independent film festivals. It was previewed at the SXSW Film Festival 2025, where it was nominated for the SXSW Grand Jury Award. At the Hot Docs Forum it won the First Look Prize. Reviews included:

“A Masterclass in Storytelling.” — SXSW.

“Urges viewers to rethink who........

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