 Freedom of wombs

Freedom of wombs (Spanish Libertad de vientres) (Portuguese Lei do Ventre Livre), also referred to as free birth, was a judicial principle applied in several countries in Latin America in the 19th century; it did not allow for the enslavement of slaves' children at birth.This overturned a tradition of enslavement in European colonies in the Americas where babies born to enslaved women became the property of the women's owners.