Should risky homebirths be regulated? In the context of avoidable harm to the mother and fetus, the clinical response to a question on a high-risk homebirth appears less ambivalent than the ethical response. The prevalent promotion of continuity of care continues to diminish the perception of risk with homebirths. We explore the evidence on continuity and its impact on the decisions that women and birthing people make in pregnancy. We explain the concept of the 'birth bubble' that information provision in pregnancy creates. The ethical dilemmas accrued from the nuanced difference between irrational choice and irrational (or false) belief bring into question the validity of informed consent. We ask whether women can ever truly make informed decisions for a homebirth in high-risk circumstances. The duty of easy rescue provides an ethical framework for regulating homebirths; in doing so, we draw an unambiguous distinction between regulation and a restriction on reproductive autonomy.