http://www.courts.mo.gov/Courts/PubOpinions.nsf/0f87ea4ac0ad4c0186256405005d3b8e/f291298ad8cf21978625747100797615?OpenDocument
SC88783: Missouri State Medical Association, et al., Respondents v. State of Missouri and Missouri Midwives Association, et al.,
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
And the Press Release:
News from Missouri Midwife Supporters
CONTACT: Mary Ueland (417) 543-4258, grassroots@friendsofmomidwives.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Missouri Women and Families Declare Victory
Independence Day Comes Early for Midwives as State Supreme Court Upholds Right to Practice
JEFFERSON CITY, MO (June 24, 2008)—Today's Missouri Supreme Court decision is a tremendous victory for Missouri families, who have been working for 25 years to gain legal access to professional midwives. The ruling increases access to maternity care in the state and allows women and families more birth options and affirms their ability to exercise their rights to choose how their babies are born.
In a 5 to 2 ruling, the Court upheld a law that legalizes Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) who practice in the state. The Court determined that the physician groups that brought the suit to overturn the law lacked standing because their only interest in the case was economic.
“The Missouri Supreme Court made the right decision today, and after 25 years of legislative struggles to ensure more birth options for families, we are very excited,” said Mary Ueland, Grassroots Coordinator for Friends of Missouri Midwives (FOMM). “Now, we can commence with creating a system in Missouri where CPMs are part of a team of caregivers, where mothers are truly informed and able to determine their own birth preferences, and where midwives can appropriately transport when the need arises, without fear of reprisals, and without intimidation and harassment of the parents.”
The decision makes legal Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) and removes the threat of prosecution to professional midwives who assist families who choose out-of-hospital birth. State and national birth and midwives advocates hailed the ruling as a triumphant and historic moment in Missouri’s history and evidence of a tipping point at hand on the national scale.
“Certified Professional Midwives must pass rigorous exams to obtain the credential, and participate in continuing education and peer review to keep current. They practice according to their Practice Guidelines within national standards for CPMs,” said Debbie Smithey, president of the Missouri Midwives Association, “Missouri was one of only nine states to prohibit CPMs from practicing, and now the number drops to eight states remaining.”
The Court’s opinion summary is posted online. The ruling makes Missouri the 23rd U.S. state to allow professional midwives.
“Today’s victory over Big Medicine is a real shot in the arm to the growing campaign to legalize midwives across the nation,” said Susan Jenkins, legal counsel for the National Birth Policy Coalition and a consultant to the Missouri midwives. “This case confirms the message that’s been reverberating loud and clear in both the mainstream media and the blogosphere ever since the American Medical Association launched its attacks against midwives and home birth last week—physicians do not have the right to speak for patients when it comes to deciding who delivers their babies. Missouri families now have legal access to CPMs, who provide high-quality, cost-effective care and fill significant gaps in the state health care system.”
Across the nation, many have stepped up to help in a case that has been likened to a David-and-Goliath battle, with midwives supporters hosting bake sales and garage sales to stand up to the enormously well-financed Missouri State Medical Association, an affiliate organization of the AMA. In February, an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief was submitted by:
*
Citizens for Midwifery (CfM)
*
Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA)
*
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM)
*
Our Bodies Ourselves
*
The National Birth Policy Coalition (NBPC)
The amicus brief submitted by the coalition urged the Court to reverse the injunction against the midwives law and made the case that increasing access to trained and qualified CPMs and out-of-hospital birth is beneficial to Missouri citizens.
The new Missouri Midwifery law was supposed to take effect Aug. 28, 2007, but the Missouri State Medical Association (MSMA) organized a well-financed challenge to the new law and was granted a temporary restraining order on July 3. Then on Aug. 8, Circuit Court Judge Patricia Joyce, who serves on the Board of Directors for St. Mary’s Health Center in Jefferson City, disallowed the Certified Professional Midwives provision contained within HB818 regarding portability and accessibility of health insurance.
Judge Joyce ruled the provision was unconstitutional and unrelated to health insurance, despite hearing from Assistant Attorney General John K. McManus and Midwifery Coalition attorney Jim Deutsch that decriminalizing midwifery does indeed relate to health insurance as they recalled that the Missouri Supreme Court has already ruled health insurance is interdependent on health services, and the two subjects are related.
During the Circuit Court appeal to Judge Joyce on Aug. 2, Deutsch cited nine other states where Medicaid covers home births attended by Certified Professional Midwives and many others where CPMs receive private insurance reimbursement. Both McManus and Deutsch argued that families obviously cannot get health insurance reimbursement for their midwives if their providers are considered felons by the state. They agreed that legalizing Certified Professional Midwives is a first step to home birth families being able to have their maternity care providers covered by insurance. They also cited the lower cost of midwifery care, which in turn could encourage insurance companies to lower their rates for healthy women.
Midwives Supporters Seek Donations to Help Pay Legal Fees
To help pay for the legal fees incurred over the past year, families across Missouri have undertaken fundraising efforts, including bake sales, garage sales, and other community fundraising events. “Through our own efforts, we have steadily chipped away at our legal bills, but we still need help,” said Laurel Smith, President of Friends of Missouri Midwives. Smith added that donations to help pay the legal fees of the coalition of midwives and their supporters can be made at http://www.FreeTheMidwives.org.
Missouri is a priority of The Big Push for Midwives Campaign, a nationally coordinated campaign to advocate for regulation and licensure of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and to push back against the attempts of the American Medical Association Scope of Practice Partnership to deny American families access to legal midwifery care. The Big Push for Midwives Campaign is the first initiative of the National Birth Policy Coalition (NBPC). Through our work, we are playing a critical role in the building of a new model of U.S. maternity care delivery at the local and regional levels. At the heart of this new model is the Midwives Model of Care, which is based on the fact that pregnancy and birth are normal life processes.
Media inquiries about the Missouri Supreme Court case should be directed to Mary Ueland at (417) 543-4258, grassroots@friendsofmomidwives.org. Media inquiries about The Big Push for Midwives Campaign should be directed to Steff Hedenkamp at (816) 506-4630, RedQuill@kc.rr.com.
Friends of Missouri Midwives www.friendsofMOmidwives.org
Missouri Midwives Association www.missourimidwivesassociation.org
Show-Me Freedom in Healthcare www.showmefreedompac.org
Free the Midwives www.freethemidwives.org
The Big Push for Midwives www.TheBigPushforMidwives.org
NOTE: The Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling today legalizes Certified Professional Midwives and how they practice within their scope of practice for pregnant women, and has nothing to do with abortion, c-sections, or epidurals.
The Midwifery Amendment
376.1753. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who holds current ministerial or tocological * certification by an organization accredited by the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) may provide services as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1396 r-6(b)(4)(E)(ii)(I). **
* Tocology is the science of midwifery or obstetrics. The National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) certifies more than 160 credentials, most of which are in the medical field. The Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) are the only tocological certifications under NOCA. CNMs are already allowed to practice under their own statute. There are no ministers certified by NOCA. Therefore, the CPM is the only credential affected by this language.
** This portion of the US Code says “services related to pregnancy (including prenatal, delivery, and post partum services).”
CONTACT: Mary Ueland (417) 543-4258, grassroots@friendsofmomidwives.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Missouri Women and Families Declare Victory
Independence Day Comes Early for Midwives as State Supreme Court Upholds Right to Practice
JEFFERSON CITY, MO (June 24, 2008)—Today's Missouri Supreme Court decision is a tremendous victory for Missouri families, who have been working for 25 years to gain legal access to professional midwives. The ruling increases access to maternity care in the state and allows women and families more birth options and affirms their ability to exercise their rights to choose how their babies are born.
In a 5 to 2 ruling, the Court upheld a law that legalizes Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) who practice in the state. The Court determined that the physician groups that brought the suit to overturn the law lacked standing because their only interest in the case was economic.
“The Missouri Supreme Court made the right decision today, and after 25 years of legislative struggles to ensure more birth options for families, we are very excited,” said Mary Ueland, Grassroots Coordinator for Friends of Missouri Midwives (FOMM). “Now, we can commence with creating a system in Missouri where CPMs are part of a team of caregivers, where mothers are truly informed and able to determine their own birth preferences, and where midwives can appropriately transport when the need arises, without fear of reprisals, and without intimidation and harassment of the parents.”
The decision makes legal Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) and removes the threat of prosecution to professional midwives who assist families who choose out-of-hospital birth. State and national birth and midwives advocates hailed the ruling as a triumphant and historic moment in Missouri’s history and evidence of a tipping point at hand on the national scale.
“Certified Professional Midwives must pass rigorous exams to obtain the credential, and participate in continuing education and peer review to keep current. They practice according to their Practice Guidelines within national standards for CPMs,” said Debbie Smithey, president of the Missouri Midwives Association, “Missouri was one of only nine states to prohibit CPMs from practicing, and now the number drops to eight states remaining.”
The Court’s opinion summary is posted online. The ruling makes Missouri the 23rd U.S. state to allow professional midwives.
“Today’s victory over Big Medicine is a real shot in the arm to the growing campaign to legalize midwives across the nation,” said Susan Jenkins, legal counsel for the National Birth Policy Coalition and a consultant to the Missouri midwives. “This case confirms the message that’s been reverberating loud and clear in both the mainstream media and the blogosphere ever since the American Medical Association launched its attacks against midwives and home birth last week—physicians do not have the right to speak for patients when it comes to deciding who delivers their babies. Missouri families now have legal access to CPMs, who provide high-quality, cost-effective care and fill significant gaps in the state health care system.”
Across the nation, many have stepped up to help in a case that has been likened to a David-and-Goliath battle, with midwives supporters hosting bake sales and garage sales to stand up to the enormously well-financed Missouri State Medical Association, an affiliate organization of the AMA. In February, an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief was submitted by:
*
Citizens for Midwifery (CfM)
*
Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA)
*
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM)
*
Our Bodies Ourselves
*
The National Birth Policy Coalition (NBPC)
The amicus brief submitted by the coalition urged the Court to reverse the injunction against the midwives law and made the case that increasing access to trained and qualified CPMs and out-of-hospital birth is beneficial to Missouri citizens.
The new Missouri Midwifery law was supposed to take effect Aug. 28, 2007, but the Missouri State Medical Association (MSMA) organized a well-financed challenge to the new law and was granted a temporary restraining order on July 3. Then on Aug. 8, Circuit Court Judge Patricia Joyce, who serves on the Board of Directors for St. Mary’s Health Center in Jefferson City, disallowed the Certified Professional Midwives provision contained within HB818 regarding portability and accessibility of health insurance.
Judge Joyce ruled the provision was unconstitutional and unrelated to health insurance, despite hearing from Assistant Attorney General John K. McManus and Midwifery Coalition attorney Jim Deutsch that decriminalizing midwifery does indeed relate to health insurance as they recalled that the Missouri Supreme Court has already ruled health insurance is interdependent on health services, and the two subjects are related.
During the Circuit Court appeal to Judge Joyce on Aug. 2, Deutsch cited nine other states where Medicaid covers home births attended by Certified Professional Midwives and many others where CPMs receive private insurance reimbursement. Both McManus and Deutsch argued that families obviously cannot get health insurance reimbursement for their midwives if their providers are considered felons by the state. They agreed that legalizing Certified Professional Midwives is a first step to home birth families being able to have their maternity care providers covered by insurance. They also cited the lower cost of midwifery care, which in turn could encourage insurance companies to lower their rates for healthy women.
Midwives Supporters Seek Donations to Help Pay Legal Fees
To help pay for the legal fees incurred over the past year, families across Missouri have undertaken fundraising efforts, including bake sales, garage sales, and other community fundraising events. “Through our own efforts, we have steadily chipped away at our legal bills, but we still need help,” said Laurel Smith, President of Friends of Missouri Midwives. Smith added that donations to help pay the legal fees of the coalition of midwives and their supporters can be made at http://www.FreeTheMidwives.org.
Missouri is a priority of The Big Push for Midwives Campaign
Media inquiries about the Missouri Supreme Court case should be directed to Mary Ueland at (417) 543-4258, grassroots@friendsofmomidwives.org. Media inquiries about The Big Push for Midwives Campaign should be directed to Steff Hedenkamp at (816) 506-4630, RedQuill@kc.rr.com.
Friends of Missouri Midwives www.friendsofMOmidwives.org
Missouri Midwives Association www.missourimidwivesassociation.org
Show-Me Freedom in Healthcare www.showmefreedompac.org
Free the Midwives www.freethemidwives.org
The Big Push for Midwives www.TheBigPushforMidwives.org
NOTE: The Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling today legalizes Certified Professional Midwives and how they practice within their scope of practice for pregnant women, and has nothing to do with abortion, c-sections, or epidurals.
The Midwifery Amendment
376.1753. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any person who holds current ministerial or tocological * certification by an organization accredited by the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) may provide services as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1396 r-6(b)(4)(E)(ii)(I). **
* Tocology is the science of midwifery or obstetrics. The National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) certifies more than 160 credentials, most of which are in the medical field. The Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) and Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) are the only tocological certifications under NOCA. CNMs are already allowed to practice under their own statute. There are no ministers certified by NOCA. Therefore, the CPM is the only credential affected by this language.
** This portion of the US Code says “services related to pregnancy (including prenatal, delivery, and post partum services).”
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Chainsaws and Trailers
I am thrilled to report that I am finally having the tree limbs removed from the ice storm...in December. I know that my punctuality is stunning. I meant to do it sooner...
So, right now Bill and his son, Billy, are in my front yard with a chainsaw loading limbs onto their trailer! Yea!! On a kind of funny note, they are sweating and heaving limbs that little ol' me and Levi moved ourselves.
Now, if I would just attack those bushes out front and finish the flowerbed I might (at least) look like a respectable homeowner.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Things I like today
Get to know Kolbi:
Radio station: KQQX Almost streaming, if you click on the "yes" circle at the bottom of the widget it will play the songs and the videos with just a few glitches (sometimes it stops a song right before the end and switches to the new one, I don't know why) On this site it gives you the option of downloading to iTunes and gives you the band info and lyrics:
KQQX @ yes.com
Applebees: pays the bills year round and keeps me out of trouble.
Jolly Rogers: gives me some spending money in addition to paying the bills and makes me feel like I am on vacation even when I can't really afford one. I work harder here than I ever have before, but also love it more than any other job I can imagine.
Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy: Lemonade beer. Yummy. Also worthy of mention, the Sunset Wheat Tastes like good beer with a tiny hint of Fruit Loops. I know, this isn't probably what they are aiming for, but it is fantastically delicious. :-)
Sixx AM: Nikki Sixx's new band. Terrific, true rock music, made even better if you read the story behind the music. I love when art is more than beautiful, when it is a way to express things that you can't find any other way to tell.
Midwives: Never give up
Books: Percy and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. I got the first of this series for Levi when I
saw a boy his age reading it at work and he loved it so much, he convinced me to read them. He also now has a library of other books on mythology, proving once again that when self-motivated, learning is never a chore. They are fantastic books and Levi could pass any college course on Greek mythology with flying colors!
Quotes for the day:
Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without.
James C. Dobson
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
Aristotle
When love is not madness, it is not love.
Pedro Calderon de la Barca
A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.
Ingrid Bergman
How absurd and delicious it is to be in love with somebody younger than yourself. Everybody should try it.
Barbara Pym
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage.
Lao Tzu
In the duel of sex woman fights from a dreadnought and man from an open raft.
H. L. Mencken
It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations... The quotations, when engraved upon the memory, give you good thoughts. They also make you anxious to read the authors and look for more.
Winston Churchill
Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right, than to be responsible and wrong.
Winston Churchill
When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865), (attributed)
Radio station: KQQX Almost streaming, if you click on the "yes" circle at the bottom of the widget it will play the songs and the videos with just a few glitches (sometimes it stops a song right before the end and switches to the new one, I don't know why) On this site it gives you the option of downloading to iTunes and gives you the band info and lyrics:
KQQX @ yes.com
Applebees: pays the bills year round and keeps me out of trouble.
Jolly Rogers: gives me some spending money in addition to paying the bills and makes me feel like I am on vacation even when I can't really afford one. I work harder here than I ever have before, but also love it more than any other job I can imagine.
Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy: Lemonade beer. Yummy. Also worthy of mention, the Sunset Wheat Tastes like good beer with a tiny hint of Fruit Loops. I know, this isn't probably what they are aiming for, but it is fantastically delicious. :-)
Sixx AM: Nikki Sixx's new band. Terrific, true rock music, made even better if you read the story behind the music. I love when art is more than beautiful, when it is a way to express things that you can't find any other way to tell.
Midwives: Never give up
Books: Percy and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. I got the first of this series for Levi when I
saw a boy his age reading it at work and he loved it so much, he convinced me to read them. He also now has a library of other books on mythology, proving once again that when self-motivated, learning is never a chore. They are fantastic books and Levi could pass any college course on Greek mythology with flying colors!
Quotes for the day:
Don't marry the person you think you can live with; marry only the individual you think you can't live without.
James C. Dobson
Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.
Aristotle
When love is not madness, it is not love.
Pedro Calderon de la Barca
A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.
Ingrid Bergman
How absurd and delicious it is to be in love with somebody younger than yourself. Everybody should try it.
Barbara Pym
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage.
Lao Tzu
In the duel of sex woman fights from a dreadnought and man from an open raft.
H. L. Mencken
It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations... The quotations, when engraved upon the memory, give you good thoughts. They also make you anxious to read the authors and look for more.
Winston Churchill
Perhaps it is better to be irresponsible and right, than to be responsible and wrong.
Winston Churchill
When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion.
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865), (attributed)
Summer is here
I kicked off official summer this weekend at Jolly Rogers. The Pirate is just as much fun and as lucrative as I remember! Yea!
Those of you who know me really well know that I sometimes get a bit paranoid and nervous. At an old job, I had a minor panic attack every time I pulled into the parking lot because I knew today would be the day they would fire me. I'm getting better at keeping those thoughts in check and have regulated my mood swings with my crazy meds fairly effectively. Rationally, I know I am a good employee. I work hard, follow the rules, am obsessively honest , and (most importantly in restaurant work) always show up. That being said, this first weekend has been a bit rough. I am kind of the new girl, but kind of not since the restaurant has been open weekends for a bit, so some of the new girls have been there already this year. I feel a little out of place because of my age anyway. I don't know, I'm a mess (we can all agree, right)and need constant reassurance of my value.
I'm am really fortunate that I have a great friend who understands me and sees through my confident facade and knows when a hug (either in person or through text) is needed. He boosts my fragile self-esteem so I can continue to wear my "server-face" even when I'm terrified of invisible threats.
So, all that out. I'm so excited to be back at the Lake, it's great. I love the owners, I love the guests. It's so nice for people to let me take part in their vacation and, better yet, TIP me for it! We just need the weather to cooperate and all will be well. Regardless, it's SUMMER! YEA!!
Those of you who know me really well know that I sometimes get a bit paranoid and nervous. At an old job, I had a minor panic attack every time I pulled into the parking lot because I knew today would be the day they would fire me. I'm getting better at keeping those thoughts in check and have regulated my mood swings with my crazy meds fairly effectively. Rationally, I know I am a good employee. I work hard, follow the rules, am obsessively honest , and (most importantly in restaurant work) always show up. That being said, this first weekend has been a bit rough. I am kind of the new girl, but kind of not since the restaurant has been open weekends for a bit, so some of the new girls have been there already this year. I feel a little out of place because of my age anyway. I don't know, I'm a mess (we can all agree, right)and need constant reassurance of my value.
I'm am really fortunate that I have a great friend who understands me and sees through my confident facade and knows when a hug (either in person or through text) is needed. He boosts my fragile self-esteem so I can continue to wear my "server-face" even when I'm terrified of invisible threats.
So, all that out. I'm so excited to be back at the Lake, it's great. I love the owners, I love the guests. It's so nice for people to let me take part in their vacation and, better yet, TIP me for it! We just need the weather to cooperate and all will be well. Regardless, it's SUMMER! YEA!!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
I get lost coming home
New windows and siding!!
Ok, I'm only exaggerating a little. I haven't actually gotten lost, but the house looks so amazing and so completely different that I'm surprised I haven't passed right by it (not even taking into consideration that I am directionally challenged.) Thank goodness I haven't done any landscaping or I might for sure drive right by.
The windows all go up...and get this...down, too! Not only that, there is glass in ALL the places glass should be! Crazy, I know! The siding not only looks fantastic, but contains NO asbestos, not even a little! I mean Paige could eat parts of it for lunch everyday (which I wouldn't put past her) and she would totally survive!
The only bad thing is that now it makes my door, which I thought was white, look dingy and makes the yard look even worse. Give me a break, I'm working on it! We bought a dark teal paint for the front and garage door and eventually those bushes will be tamed. But for now, I am just as happy as I can be with my little house!
Saturday, May 17, 2008
We lose...again
I try to keep to the old adage of, "if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all" so I am going to keep this post plain and simple. Midwives are still felons. There are a handful of Senators who should be ashamed of themselves for so perfectly being the stereotypical "crooked politician" but I am not going to name names, mostly because I'm beated down to the point that I don't think it would do any good.
Money and influence wins; truth and perseverance loses. Same story as the last four years. End of story, end of post.
Money and influence wins; truth and perseverance loses. Same story as the last four years. End of story, end of post.
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