Of Midwives and Laws

There has been news lately from advocates in both Maine and Missouri regarding the licensure bills that they were attempting to pass this legislative session. In Maine, the licensing bill was rejected, but approved a new law allowing CPMs to carry and use certain medications (such as pitocin). You can read more about this on the Midwifery World blog.

In Missouri, valiant attempts to pass a bill licensing CPMs was thwarted in the last hours of the legislative session. The bill managed to make it through the Senate (a first in years), but with only hours left in the session it was not heard in the House and thus did not make it to fruition. Hopes have turned to the Supreme Court case regarding the bill from 2007 and a decision is expected on June 10. You can read more in this St. Louis Post-Dispatch article. (The article uses the term "lay midwives", though the bill was actually about Certified Professional Midwives.) There is additional information on the Midwifery World blog as well.