Did you ever split a cookie between two kids and hear each of them ask for the "bigger" half? With several beautiful acres (including this waterfall) in southeast Missouri, the beginnings of a homestead and five wonderful children (and one due in Jan) we really feel like we've been blessed by our Creator with more than our share. And we'd like to share some of it with you here.
The part that thrills me to no end (you know, aside from being able to have a mdiwife help deliver my baby at home!) is this (from the St. Louis Post Dispatch):
"On Tuesday, non-nurse midwives won their long-running battle to deliver babies without fear of prosecution as the Missouri Supreme Court tossed out a lawsuit filed by doctors' groups.
The suit had claimed that a midwives measure passed last year was unconstitutional because it covered too many subjects. The court said the doctors lacked legal standing to challenge the law."
The big dogs that came against us are these:
The Missouri State Medical Association
The Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons
Missouri Academy of Family Physicians
St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society
That's a formidable list. That's a lot of money and power right there, especially compared to our little grassroots groups (Missouri Midwives Associan, Friends of Missouri Midwives, etc). But the judge decided they "lacked legal standing to challenge the law." Their case (frightening, some of the things they were going to build their case on, including a former judgement involving Planned Parenthood about how they're basically in charge of their patients) was never even considered because they had no reason to be there. I like the way the court opinion put it (see link "we won!!" post):
"The plaintiff associations have no standing to bring this challenge. Before passing judgment on the constitutional validity of a statute, this Court must determine whether the plaintiffs have standing to bring the constitutional challenge. Standing requires the party seeking relief to have some legally protectable interest in the litigation so as to be affected directly and adversely by its outcome. For an association of individuals to have standing, the association members must have standing to bring their claims individually."
In a nutshell, "Go. Run along now. This has nothing to do with you."
The real issue, what this really means for these doctor's groups, in my humble opinion, is a loss of many thousands of dollars a year as women decide to have their babies at home. I read somewhere (sorry, I hate being so vague as to a source, but it's one of those general things that you have little reason to doubt) that the number one reason for a women to be admitted to a hospital is childbirth. What did your last hospital birth cost you? No small chunk of change, is it? Anyway, they can't very well stand up in court and whine, "But we'll lose so much monnnney...."
Let me also say that I understand many people, including, supposedly, these doctors, have an issue with the safety of homebirth. Anyone who's done their research and/or met with a midwife is confident that the risk factors are low and that they're in good hands. (And should unforseen complications occur, all the more reason to have a legally recognized, well-trained midwife who can be there with you in the hospital, working with the doctor). But I propose that it's my constitutional right to decide for myself what is safe for myself and my baby. Although I believe homebirth with a midwife is the safest, most agreeable option, I believe the issue here is FREEDOM.
It won't be long before freedom itself is deemed unconstitutional.
This was interesting to read. I know that here in New Zealand the midwifery association battled for the right to practice independantly many years ago and won. We now have an (in my opinion) an almost perfect system, and I believe some of the best maternity care in the world. In fact, our govt had to make a law recently about foreigners coming here just to have their babies, as our system is so great. The midwives now have just as much power as the obstetricians. The obstetricians have been forced to go private or be on the pay roll of a hospital and on call for emergencies. Every pregnant woman is entitled to have a midwife (whether you have an obstet or not), and homebirths are becoming more and more popular. We have birth centers popping up all over the place, and the midwives are payed to do what they do by the government. If you don't go with a private obstetrician, maternity care is all free here. It's a really wonderful thing, and I hope that in time the midwives association over there will win the fight too. Our midwives had to spend many years lobbying the government and changing the minds of the general population and the powers-that-be before they won.
Rachel from NZ
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