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We are getting closer! You can help get this bill through.
Call our legislators on the Public Health Committee and tell them to report out favorably on this bill NOW so that we can keep it moving towards passage!
Call Public Health Committee Chairpersons Senator John F. Keenan (617-722-1494) and Representative Jeffrey Sanchez (617-722-2130).
Leave your name and address and ask them to support HB2008/ SB1081.
Also call your legislators (find out who they are at wheredoivotema.com and get contact information at malegislature.gov) and tell them the same.
We especially need folks in the districts of Representative Sanchez (Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, Roslindale, Brookline) and Senator Keenan (Quincy, Braintree, Holbrook, Abington, Rockland).
Call even if you live in another district.
Call even if you have called before.
So much has been happening.
We had an amazing turnout of families supporting home birth midwives!
The legislators were awed when at least twenty families, with babies and young children in tow, entered the hearing room. Many families gave impromptu testimony at the invitation of Representative Sanchez. The babies were the talk of the building!
Check out this article on the WBUR Commonhealth Blog
"License Professional Midwives For More Childbirth (And Home Birth) Options" by Sarah Whedon. Read about Whedon's breathtaking birth story
In the amount of time it took the ambulance to arrive at my Somerville home... and why she supports the CPM bill.
Let's catch up with the 29 other states that are already regulating home birth, making it a safer and more accessible birthing option.
Nov 19 hearing was a success thanks to all of you!
Families lined the halls of the State House!
Thanks to you, on November 19, we showed the Massachusetts State House that the CPM bill has strong support. You were among the 500 signers of the petition we submitted!
Mothers and fathers (with their babies in tow), midwives, physicians, and representatives from Our Bodies Ourselves, Massachusetts League of Women Voters, and Amnesty International all testified in support of the bill.
A Post-Hearing Birth!
Kati Mcbride from Stowe, MA was one of the expectant moms at the State House. Less than 12 hours after the hearing concluded, Kati and her husband Keith delivered a healthy 9lb 12 oz. baby boy at 5:53 a.m. on November 20th at their home in the care of Certified Professional Midwives, Jessica Petrone and Sarafina Kennedy. They have named him Boston Brock McBride.
Keep up with the latest news and further action you can take
FB: https://www.facebook.com/massmidwiferyact
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MassCPMsAct
E-mail alerts: http://tinyurl.com/midwifery-bill-email (by providing your residence, we can send you specific alerts about your legislative district)
Learn about the Massachusetts Midwifery Bill:
https://www.facebook.com/massmidwiferyact
http://massmidwives.org/about/news-and-events/midwifery-bill-latest-news/
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Joint Committee on Public Health public hearing!
Consumer Groups Urge Support of Licensure and Regulation for
Certified Professional Midwives in Massachusetts
Mother Who Attended Hearing Delivers Healthy Baby Boy through Home Birth
BOSTON, MA – November 21, 2013 – Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs), Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs), OB/GYNS and other physicians, public health experts, consumers and advocacy organizations submitted testimony to the Joint Committee on Public Health at their public hearing on scope of practice and licensure bills on November 19th. These advocates expressed their strong support of a bill that would license CPMs in the Commonwealth: HB 2008/SB 1081, An Act Relative to Certified Professional Midwives, sponsored by Representative Kay Khan and Senator Richard Moore.
The bill, which has almost ¼ of the Massachusetts legislature signed on as cosponsors, would create state oversight of CPMs - the primary attendants for families seeking home births in the state.
Certified Professional Midwives, several parents (with their babies in tow), a physician, and representatives from Our Bodies Ourselves, Massachusetts League of Women Voters, and Amnesty International all testified in person, pointing to the many advantages of such regulation.
In her letter to legislators, Martha Richardson, MD, FACOG, Assistant Clinical Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at Harvard Medical School, urged lawmakers to “please support this effort to give women and families a supervised choice for their births.” Dr. Richardson is a constituent of Public Health Committee Chairman Representative Jeffrey Sanchez and Senator Sonia-Chang Diaz. Additionally, a letter signed by eight organizations* urged legislators to “ensure that Massachusetts women and their families receive the consumer protection and good birth choices that women in 28 other states already have.”
Legislators received a packet of 27 pieces of written testimony, a petition with nearly 500 signatures of Massachusetts residents, fact sheets, research studies, and information on the increase in home birth nationally and locally, as well as the potential for cost savings.
Advocates urged the Committee on Public Health to report the bill out favorably as they have done in previous Sessions and allow the bill to advance to the next step in the legislative process.
The group of more than 20 consumer advocates who attended the hearing included Kati Mcbride from Stowe, MA, a constituent of Representative Kate Hogan and Senator James Eldridge. Less than 12 hours after the hearing concluded, Kati and her husband Keith delivered a healthy 9lb 12 oz. baby boy at 5:53 a.m. on November 20th at their home in the care of Certified Professional Midwives, Jessica Petrone and Sarafina Kennedy. They have named him Boston Brock McBride.
* ACLU of Massachusetts, Amnesty International, Massachusetts NOW, Mass Friends of Midwives, Massachusetts League of Women Voters, Our Bodies Ourselves, and the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts
URGENT--Midwifery Bill Alert!!!
Make a difference!!!! FIVE minutes of your time will help us to VICTORY!!!
In our ongoing effort to advance midwifery and the right of families to choose to give birth with a midwife, we need your help. Currently a very important midwifery bill is going through the legislative process. The bill would require all midwives practicing in out-of-hospital settings who are not already licensed CNMs to become Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) if they do not already have that credential. It also creates state licensing requirements for all CPMs and establishes a Committee on Midwifery under the Board of Registration in Medicine. This bill is widely supported at the State House, but in past sessions has run out of time or been blocked by medical societies who view this as a potential threat to their business. Please look over our fact sheet for more details on the bill. If you would like to read the bill in its entirety, please go to the following link: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/BillHtml/123663?generalCourtId=11
Right now the bill is awaiting approval from the Joint Committee for Public Health. In order to fast track this bill, please contact your legislators to let them know your personal reasons for supporting Senate Bill 1081/House Bill 2008 and that as a constituent you would like them to support the bill, especially if your Senator or Representative is a member of the Joint Committee for Public Health. Don’t be shy about calling or emailing as often as you can. This truly makes a huge difference.
What am I asking for?
If your Senator or Representative is on the Joint Committee for Public Health (see list below) say you would like them to approve the bill and release it from the Public Health Committee. (This allows the bill to continue on to the next steps.) If your Senator or Rep. is not on the Joint Committee for Public Health, let them know you would like them to support this bill and ask that they contact the Public Health Committee to voice support for the bill on behalf of constituents.
It is especially important to call and/or email voicing your support for the bill if you:
- Live in Jamaica Plain and are a constituent of Chairman Sanchez,
- If you are a constituent of Chairman Keenan,
- Or if your Representative or Senator is on the Joint Committee for Public Health
Chairman Sanchez and many other Representatives are strongly supporting this bill. If you speak with them, please thank them for their continued support and ask how we can help evangelize the bill.
What exactly should I say?
Hello! My name is X. I’m a constituent of Y. I’m calling today to request that Sen./Rep./Chair Y support Senate Bill 1081/House Bill 2008, An Act Relative to Certified Professional Midwives and that s/he lend his/her support in asking that the bill be approved and released from the Joint Committee for Public Health.
Who do I contact?
You can find the name and contact info of your MA Senator and Representative at the following link: http://www.wheredoivotema.com/
Here is a list of members of the Public Health Committee (Remember these are the people we most need to talk to right now):
Sen. John Keenan: 617-722-1494, John.Keenan@masenate.gov
Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez: 617-722-2130, Jeffrey.sanchez@mahouse.gov
Sen. Marc Pacheco: 617-722-1551, Marc.Pacheco@masenate.gov
Sen. Katherine Clark: 617-722-1206, Katherine.Clark@masenate.gov
Sen. James Timilty: 617 722-1222, James.Timilty@masenate.gov
Sen. Joan Lovely: 617-722-1410, Joan.Lovely@masenate.gov
Sen. Robert Hedlund: 617-722-1646, Robert.Hedlund@masenate.gov
Rep. Jason Lewis: 617-722-2017, Jason.Lewis@mahouse.gov
Rep. Christine Canavan: 617-722-2575, Christine.Canavan@mahouse.gov
Rep. Ruth Balser: 617-722-2396, Ruth.Balser@mahouse.gov
Rep. Cleon Turner: 617-722-2090, Cleon.Turner@mahouse.gov
Rep. Denise Garlick: 617-722-2070, Denise.Garlick@mahouse.gov
Rep. Keiko Orrall: 617-722-2090, Keiko.Orrall@mahouse.gov
Rep. Christopher Fallon: 617-722-2430, Christopher.Fallon@mahouse.gov
Rep. Carl Sciortino, Jr.: 617-722-2013, Carl.Sciortino@mahouse.gov
Rep. Carolyn Dykema: 617-722-2210, Carolyn.Dykema@mahouse.gov
Rep. James Lyons, Jr.: 617-722-2014, James.Lyons@mahouse.gov
It only takes a minute or two to call and make a difference. Don’t underestimate the importance of contacting your representatives. Please pick up your phone right now and call.
Feel free to report the results of any calls to info@mfom.org
We will continue updating the website to keep you informed of all progress.
Thank you so much for your support! SPREAD THE WORD!!!
IF YOU HAVE 5 MORE MINUTES -- After you hang up, think of everyone else you know who lives near you or —husbands, partners, family, and friends and ask THEM to call, too.
When Reps hear 5 constituents have called on the same issue, they take notice. If 10 constituents call, they take it seriously, and if 20 call, they think the bill is the center of the universe. PLEASE CALL TODAY!!!
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