November 18, 2025
An Indiana hospital is under fire for turning away a Black woman in active labor who gave birth minutes later inside her car.
Social media is on fire in response to a video showing a Black woman in active labor being wheeled out of a hospital, only to give birth minutes later in her car—highlighting the ongoing Black maternal health crisis.
Mercedes Wells and her newborn are recovering at a Munster, Indiana, hospital after a now-viral video showed her being denied entry to Franciscan Health Crown Point in Crown Point, Indiana, CBS News reports. In the video, a nurse can be seen wheeling Wells out of the hospital despite clear signs of active labor.
Her family, who recorded and shared the video, said the hospital turned Wells away for being only three centimeters dilated and told her to return later. Just eight minutes after leaving Franciscan Health, she gave birth in the family’s car.
Wells’ sister-in-law, Cherice Joy Thompson, said they were visiting family in Indiana and the baby wasn’t due for several more weeks.
“I feel like my family’s rights have been violated,” Thompson said.
She recalls her brother, Wells’ husband, driving while helping his wife deliver their baby minutes after being forced out of the hospital.
“She said, ‘I’ve got to push.’ … He was driving with one hand, ripped her pants off with the other hand, looked down, and he said he could see the baby’s head. And he was like, ‘Oh my God, here’s the baby’s head,’” Thompson said. “He grabbed a blanket, caught the baby, and then put the baby on my sister-in-law’s chest, Mercedes’ chest, and the umbilical, everything was still attached, and they kept on driving.”
The family called 911 and stayed on the line during the delivery. Dispatchers directed them to a nearby Munster hospital, which welcomed them. Thompson said they are grateful for the care Wells and her baby received, but remain shaken and upset by their experience at Franciscan Health.
“When I went to the hospital yesterday, when I opened up the door, Mercedes saw me, she just started crying, because she feels violated, she feels unheard. You know, she feels dismissed,” Thompson said.
Franciscan Health said it has launched an investigation. The hospital faces widespread criticism on social media, with many citing the incident as another example of the maternal health crisis disproportionately affecting Black women, who are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.
“A whole hospital sent her away while she was literally giving birth, this is exactly why maternal care in America needs serious reform,” one X user wrote.
“From hospital rejection to a highway birth in 8 minutes… this is horrifying. Hospitals need accountability NOW,” another user added.
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