This bill creates a comprehensive regulatory framework for freestanding birthing centers in Kentucky. It defines a freestanding birthing center as a health facility outside of a hospital or private residence that provides care for labor, delivery, immediate postpartum care, and newborn services. The bill requires the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to establish licensure standards, including mandatory accreditation by the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers, medical malpractice insurance requirements, and a location within 30 miles of a hospital. Each center must have a licensed physician serving as a medical director responsible for quality review and patient eligibility criteria. The bill mandates detailed written informed consent for patients, which must include information about practitioners’ credentials, emergency protocols, and complaint procedures. Centers must also have written patient transfer agreements with hospitals and emergency medical services. The legislation exempts birthing centers with four or fewer beds from certificate-of-need requirements, explicitly prohibits performing abortions in these facilities, and clarifies that the law does not expand or limit healthcare provider liability. Additionally, the bill makes several technical amendments to various Kentucky statutes to incorporate freestanding birthing centers into existing healthcare regulations, and is named the Mary Carol Akers Birth Centers Act.