This past week we have been studying 2 new pieces of legislation (not ours) that, if enacted, will turn our dear midwives into felons. This is the work of The AMA Scope of Practice Partnership. As it turns out, in 2007, our terrific North Carolina Medical Society established via statute that maternity care is the practice of medicine. The nurse midwives are exempted by virtue of the Midwifery Practice Act. Now, SB164 does nothing more than change the penalty for practicing medicine without a license from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 1 felony. This same language exists in another bill. My sense is that our adversaries are going to try and make this change where ever they can and they only need to be successful once and our midwives will be felons.
We had a call with The Big Push leadership today and we have our plan. We will energetically oppose this. In the next few days, there will be a call to action in which we will need everyone (and I mean everyone) to engage. Basically, we will send strong messages that the NCMS is taking a hostile action to disrupt due process. We have worked really hard to remain in process including conducting a legislative study committee and in desperation they are becoming predatory.
We cannot let this happen. Explicit instructions will be coming in the next few days. This note is to alert you to stand ready...they are escalating and so will we.
Russ Fawcett
Please, if you live in NC and have had a homebirth, no matter what type of midwife assisted you or if you live in NC and know of someone who has had a homebirth, PLEASE join the North Carolina Friends of Midwives today. At the beginning of the year NCFOM revamped it's membership list and required everyone to rejoin through their website, so if you joined before January 2009, you'll need to do it again. Go to http://www.ncfom.org/join.html
To birthing freedom!
Rebecca Walton
