Freedom of wombs

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Free womb laws (Spanish: Libertad de vientres, Portuguese: Lei do Ventre Livre), also referred to as free birth or the law of wombs, was a 19th century judicial concept in several Latin American countries, that declared that all wombs bore free children. All children are born free, even if the mother is enslaved. This principle did not go into effect unless a country adopted it and included it in its constitution or other legislation. It overturned a tradition, under which babies born to enslaved women became the property of the women's owners. Intended as a step towards ending slavery, it was unevenly adopted.