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Sunday, November 25, 2007

Law - "Missouri high court to weigh the legality of at-home births" [Updated]

Kirsten Scharnberg of the Chicago Tribune reports today on midwifery in a long story datelined Kansas City, Mo. Here is a brief quote

[I]n Missouri, where the Kerr baby was born in a carefully planned home birth, the experienced midwife hired to oversee the delivery was committing a Class C felony.

"Can you imagine that?" asked Jessica Kerr, the mother of the healthy newborn. "I make the personal choice to have my baby at home, assisted by a midwife of my choosing, and that is illegal?"

Even as midwifery grows increasingly popular nationwide, with an estimated 40,000 babies born outside hospitals last year, a handful of states remain severely restrictive of the profession. In nine states, including Illinois, Iowa and Indiana, some forms of midwifery are illegal, though not a felony. Missouri, the only state where midwives can be charged as felons, has long been the most hostile to the practice of midwifery, though hundreds of families like the Kerrs rely on an underground network of midwives who quietly operate outside the law.

Now Missouri finds itself in the national spotlight on the issue. A state lawmaker whose wife was aided by a midwife pushed through legislation this year that would allow midwives to practice freely in the state, and Gov. Matt Blunt signed the bill into law. But opponents quickly filed a lawsuit to overturn it, and state courts ordered an injunction. The law cannot go into effect until the Missouri Supreme Court rules on its legality, probably early next year.

Readers may recall that several midwives were prosecuted in Indiana in 2006 and that Rep. Peggy Welch of Bloomington introduced legislation (which did not pass) "to recognize and regulate lay midwives." See the April 3, 2006 ILB entry here.

[Updated 7:00 pm] Bloomington attorney Michael Ausbrook (of the blog INCourts.com) has emailed the ILB re the statement in the above story that "In nine states, including Illinois, Iowa and Indiana, some forms of midwifery are illegal, though not a felony." Ausbook writes:

That Tribune story you quoted in this post is just plain wrong. Practicing midwifery without a license [in Indiana] is a Class D felony. To make matters worse, the Court of Appeals held way back in 1982 that practicing midwifery without a license is per se practicing medicine without a license, and the latter is a Class C felony, which carries up to an eight-year sentence.

The reason I know all of this is that I am currently suing Steve Carter (and eventually the Nursing Board, I expect) over the midwifery statutes and regs. I've got 93 plaintiffs consisting of active lay midwives and current and past clients.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 25, 2007 12:28 PM
Posted to General Law Related