MA Midwifery Bill Update

[jessjgh1]

Forwarded message 

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Dear friends and supporters of midwifery,
As many of you know, the Midwifery Bill, now known as An Act Relative to Certified Professional Midwives (House Bill 2368 and Senate Bill 1133; same text) is being heard on Beacon Hill by the MA Joint Committee for Public Health tomorrow, Tuesday, 7/19/2011. This bill, when passed, will recognize and regulate the practice of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs). A link to the text for this bill follows later in this post. As always, a few prominent medical interest groups (most notably the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) are actively trying to kill this midwifery bill, so we need many citizens to voice their support NOW for midwifery options.

We’ve recently learned that calls made to the main State House number are not always getting through. Please call your MA State Rep. and MA Senator directly TODAY or TOMORROW, 7/19, letting him/her know that this bill is important to you. and to urge its passage. With legislators, the squeaky wheel gets the oil so it’s important that you and any friends and colleagues you know call in support of this bill.

You can find the name and contact information for your MA Senator and Rep. as the following link: http://www.wheredoivotema.com/​bal/myelectioninfo.php
It takes only a minute or two to make a call. Your support makes a big difference, so please pick up the phone or email and ask your friends, colleagues, and family to call and/or to email as well.

Here's a sample script:
Hello! My name is XXX. I'm a constituent of Senator/Rep. XXX. I'm calling today to request that Sen./Rep. XXX support An Act Relative to Certified Professional Midwives (House Bill 2368 and Senate Bill 1133). This bill is being heard before the Joint Committee for Public Health on July 19th. Thank you for your support of this important legislation.
(You may be asked for your name again, as well as for your address and/or phone number).

It's that simple!

Bill text (now known as House Bill 2368 and Senate Bill 1133) is available by clicking here: http://www.malegislature.gov/B​ills/187/Senate/S01133

It's especially important to call if your Representative or Senator is on the Joint Committee for Public Health. Committee members and their districts are listed below:

Sen. Chandler (Senate Vice-Chair of Public Health Comm.):
1st Worcester: Berlin, Boylston, Clinton (Pcts. 3-4), Holden, Northborough, Paxton, Princeton, West Boylston, Worcester (Wds. 1-4, 9-10)

Rep. Lewis (House Vice-Chair of Public Health Comm.)
31st Middlesex: Stoneham (Pcts. 1-2, 4-7), Winchester

Sen. Timilty
Bristol & Norfolk: Attleboro (Wd. 3, Pct B; Wds 4-6), Dover, Foxboro, Mansfield, Medfield, Norton, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Sharon (Pcts, 1, 4, 5), Walpole

Sen. Clark
Middlesex & Essex: Lynnfield, Malden, Melrose (Wds. 1-5), Reading, Stoneham, Wakefield

Rep. Fallon
33rd Middlesex: Malden (Wd. 2; Wd. 3, Pct 1; Wds. 4-6; Wd 8)

Rep. Balser (bill cosponsor)
12th Middlesex: Newton (Wd. 5, Pcts. 1-3; Wd. 6; Wd 7, Pcts 1, 3-4; Wd 8)

Rep. Sciortino (bill cosponsor)
34th Middlesex: Medford (Wds 4-5; Wd. 7, Pct. 1; Wd. 8, Pct. 2), Somerville (Wd. 4, Pcts 1-2; Wd. 7)

Rep. Garlick (also on Health Care Financing Committee)
13th Norfolk: Dover, Medfield (Pcts. 1-2), Needham

Rep. Mahoney
13th Worcester: Paxton, Worcester (Wd. 1, Pcts 1-4; Wd. 9; Wd 10, Pct 3)

Rep. Adams
17th Essex: Andover (Pcts. 2-6,9), Lawrence(Wd. D, Pcts. 1-2; Wd E, Pcts. 1, 4), Tewksbury (Pcts. 3, 3A)

Rep. George Ross
2nd Bristol: Attleboro (Wds. 1-2; Wd. 3, Pct. A; Wds. 4-6)

Please call today and help make good birth choices available to all MA women and their families.

Thanks so much for your ongoing support!!!
Ann Sweeney
Mass. Friends of Midwives www.mfom.org
http://www.facebook.com/home.p​hp?sk=group_41256021750
www.mfom.org
***PLEASE FORWARD TO ALL LISTS***

[jessjgh1]

Forwarding info....

Tomorrow is the hearing of both the bill which would offer formal state recognition of CPMs, and the bill which would establish a commission investigating OOH birth. Tuesday 7/19 at the State House, more than a dozen midwives and other supporters of midwifery and OOH birth will be testifying before the Joint Committee of Public Health. The hearing starts at 10am, but bills are not called in a particular order so we don't know exactly what time testimonies will be heard.

Please, please come and show your support: wear your midwifery and homebirth T-shirts, bring your babies, provide friendly faces in the audience. ACOG and the Mass Medical Society will be out in force!

[nurseyface]

any updates?  how did it go?

[jessjgh1]

From the updates I read it went well.  There were 2 people opposed and the midwifery supporters had a diverse group of people testifying in support  (CPM's, Drs, OB's, consumers, OBOS, Amnesty International, NOW, MA League of Women Voters)

WBUR also had commentary on the bill Tuesday and ran a piece based on the Globe Magazine Article.

I'm just forwarding information so I apologize for not being able to give a more personal update.  I don't see a formal update that I can post, but if I see something, I'll try to post it.... 

Anyone else that hears about next steps-- please feel free to post here, I won't have internet access always in the next couple weeks.

[jessjgh1]

Here's an update from Ann Sweeney

Our hearing last week went exceptionally well. We put together outstanding panels and were well-prepped to counter assertions by the MMS about education and training. Many, many thanks to everyone who supported our efforts and made calls to their legislators on behalf of the bill. If you haven't called and voiced your support yet, please call anytime between now and the end of July. The more grassroots support we generate, the better! Here's where you can find your legislator's information:

www.wheredoivotema.com