Action Alert: Still Time to Amend Bad Midwifery Bill


The bad midwifery bill, HB 185, can still be amended to reduce the ill effects described in the previous post.
The Idaho Senate has not yet debated, amended or voted on this bill. Please take a moment to contact your Senator and urge him to help repair this bad bill with amendments.
These are the points to keep in mind when contacting the Senate:
* Please preserve midwifery freedom by amending H185 and making it voluntary instead of mandatory.
* Midwifery has been practiced since the beginning of time and is currently legal in Idaho.
* Many midwives only do a few deliveries per year. They can’t afford certification fees, licensure fees, or additional mandatory classes.
* Some midwives who don’t use prescriptive drugs–they use natural alternatives–would become illegal unless they took classes and got licensed to administer drugs that they wouldn’t use anyway.
* This legislation would also restrict entry for future midwives.
* It would limit access to safe, affordable services for mothers by driving a significant portion of Idaho midwives under at a time when many families are already experiencing economic hardships.
* Mothers prohibited from using midwifery services by this legislation would be more likely to hide health issues from their midwives–creating unnecessary emergency situations.
* It would create a number of scenarios where women would be more likely to have risky, unassisted births.
* Many midwives supported the bill before it went through the House. Many midwives and consumers who have read the House bill are upset with the changes.
Follow this link to contact your senator.
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Posted in Constitutional Issues, Family Matters, Idaho Legislature | 1 Comment »
March 25th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
A voluntary bill was brought forward for two years and the legislators rejected it. Most will not support a voluntary bill. The bill allows for safer birth by allowing midwives to carry Oxygen and Pitocin to births. Some exceptions have been made to allow for as many midwives who want to be licensed to obtain one. This bill actually encourages entry for future midwives now that practicing within their scope is not longer a felony. Before midwives had fear of prosecution for carrying this meds.
There are some restrictions that are a hard pill to swallow, but in the end most of the midwives AND consumers in Idaho still support HB 185.
The licensing fee will not by $1000, it is just to not exceed that.
Also, this is the same bill that was introduced to the House last month, no changes have been made this year.