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Here is the latest update from the legislative committee of the Missouri Midwives Association, of which I am an active part. If you are new to midwifery in Missouri, you may not understand how great the fight has been so far to give you access to midwives, and birth outside of the hospital. This legislative battle is crucial to preserving your rights-please take a moment to read, and to act!
There are now THREE midwifery bills before the Missouri Legislature:
HB 894 OUR GREAT BILL (Licenses and Regulates Certified Professional Midwives) Years of wisdom from MMA and FOMM consensus, miles walked in the Capitol, consultation with state and national experts, and a six-hour conference call between several dozen midwives were poured into the drafting/crafting of the best midwifery licensing bill we could imagine. Sponsor: Thomas Long. Cosponsors below. WE SUPPORT THIS BILL.
(link: http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills111/biltxt/intro/HB0894I.htm)
HB 301 REP TALBOY'S IMPOSSIBLE BILL ("Kiss your midwife goodbye"--includes impossible regulations) Currently stalled in committee--thanks to YOUR calls, letters and emails. It appears that the chair of this committee understands that she must either enrage the medical lobby or midwives and home birth families. There is no way the citizen lobbying presence we have had in Jefferson City could have accomplished this without all the calls and letters and emails from you. Sponsor: Mike Talboy WE OPPOSE THIS BILL.
(link: http://www.house.mo.gov/content.aspx?info=/bills111/bilsum/intro/sHB301I.htm)
HB 887 REP (DR) FREDERICK'S INADEQUATE "COMPROMISE" BILL ("wolf in sheep's clothing" --meant to appear to be a compromise but still impossible) Sponsor: Dr Keith Frederick WE OPPOSE THIS BILL.
(link: http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills111/biltxt/intro/HB0887I.htm)
The story behind this amazing situation will be described in a Legislative Update that is being composed. Having a couple of busy midwives be the people most "in-the-know" slows down the emailing process. Suffice it to say that you are not being ignored at the Capitol!
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. Write a Thank You note to Rep Thomas Long (201 West Capitol Avenue Room 236B Jefferson City MO 65101). Rep Long (R) serves the 134th district in the Springfield area. Thomas Long came to Jeff City very interested in supporting us. Being a freshman, we hope he’ll be around for eight years. When discussing our bill, Long stated he is more interested in doing what's right than in doing what's popular and he plans to be in this with families and midwives for the long haul. He is the uncle to two children born with midwives.
Rep. Long is about to face severe and extreme pressure and repercussions. According to the powers that be, we were NOT supposed to be introducing our own bill, we were supposed to be compromising from Talboy's “Kiss your midwife goodbye" bill.
Rep Long has given us an end run around the wall that House leadership was hoping to press our backs against. He's not making any friends among leadership. A pile of thank you notes will be a bit of an antidote before he faces the storm.
2. Write a Thank You note to as many of the co-sponsors as you can this week. They are going to very quickly feel pressure to change their support. They will be feeling the same heat as Rep Long. (We can expect things like them receiving visits/calls soon from Dr. Redfern and others saying how they are contributing to babies dying all over the state).
Please help them get the message that there are a lot of Missourians who care about this issue and who appreciate their courage. A pile of thank you notes on their desk when they return from spring break will send a clear message. (Thank you notes from citizens are still VERY VERY rare in the legislature, making this one of our most effective tools. They get noticed.)
3. If you can reach your representative at home over Spring Break, call and ask for their support for HB 894 (reasonable licensing bill, sets up a board like almost every other profession in Missouri) and their opposition to HB 301 and HB 887 (unreasonable, impossible requirements for midwives). Sometimes their home numbers are listed on their pages at house.mo.gov. While they are home and in their districts this week for spring break, they expect to hear from constituents. If you call and leave a voice mail on their home phone, please introduce yourself first as someone who lives in their district. Nothing changes the stance of a legislator more quickly and effectively than a handful of calls from constituents. This is the time for them to hear from you. If you can’t talk to them in the home district (either by phone or in person) over spring break, wait until next week to contact them at the Capitol. Do not leave messages at the Capitol this week. We’ll send more instructions then.
4. Check your stock of thank-you cards and stamps. We're gonna need them.
5. Check your calendar for a day you can come to the Capitol. We promise to make it fun--we will pair you with another home birth parent/midwifery supporter and give you a clear action list. Watching citizens take on a powerful interest group and hold ground is an exciting thing to witness. You'll want to be able to tell your grand-children you were a part of this history-making and saw it happen.
Cosponsors:
Please write a hearty thank you to each of these people!
The address for all of them is:
Representative ________
201 West Capitol Avenue, Room _____
Jefferson City MO 65101
Shane Schoeller 301
Lincoln Hough 236A
Andrew Koenig 207A** Represents Chesterfield
John Cauthorn 235
Bart Korman 114C **Represents Warren and Montgomery Counties
Wayne Wallingford 114B
Kurt Bahr 201 G **Represents O'fallon
Galen Higdon 410 B
Sally Faith 313-3 **Represents St Charles
Jeannette Mott Oxford 135 BB
Leonard Hughes IV 105D
Eric Burlison 412B
Ward Franz 313-2
Tony Dugger 407B
Barney Fisher 411-2
Lyndall Fraker 115F
Doug Funderburk 412A **Represents St Peters, Cottleville, Weldon Spring
Paul Fitzwater 115E
Paul Curtman 405B **Represents Pacific, Eureka, Cedar Hill
Steve Cookson 115G
Charlie Davis 409A
Melissa Leach 115H
Bill Lant 115B
John McCaherty 115A **Represents Fenton, High Ridge
Mike McGhee 414
Cole McNary 206B **Represents Chesterfield
Rodney Schad 115
Todd Richardson 233A
Anne Zerr 113 **Represents St Charles
Thank you for making unexpected, very good things happen at the Capitol in recent weeks! It's truly amazing to see what a few hundred calls, emails and letters can do!
~ The midwifery supporters "on the ground" at the Capitol
