Columbia Daily Tribune-Midwifery bill faces resistance in Missouri Senate

Midwifery bill faces resistance in Missouri Senate

One of the best articles written so far, providing the most balance to the discussion. I was so impressed that I called the Tribune and thanked them for the balanced coverage!

Some highlights:

As a physician, Elizabeth Alleman of Columbia can offer home births, but she testified in support of decriminalizing midwifery. She said families who believe in home birth already make their own informed choices about caregivers, even though their midwives risk arrest. "The state has moved into the arena of childbirth and said women have to go to the hospitals and have doctors," Alleman said. "Citizens can’t vote with their feet."

Alleman left the hearings deeply disappointed by the testimony and the questions from the committee. She worries that senators won’t give the issue enough consideration with so many bills to wade through before the legislative session ends.