Well, as much sadness as that ruling brought to the options available for women in this state, there is even more joy now. The order has been reversed by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania! Diane Goslin and the hundreds of other homebirth midwives in PA that the prior rule implicated are allowed to practice their profession and provide choices in childbirth.
To read more about it, visit www.savehomebirth.com.
Dr. Marsden Wagner, former director of Women & Children's Health for the World Health Organization commented on this recent PA ruling saying, "Midwifery is gradually expanding in the US -- This is important progress in American maternity care."
Basically the decision was overturned because of a misinterpretation of wording in the law. Home birth midwives are not subject to the laws covering doctors, nurses, and nurse-midwives because they are not any of those. They are certified professional midwives.
The problem that I foresee, however, is that despite this short-term victory, there are currently no laws governing certified professional midwives. And, Diane Goslin's avoidance of prosecution under the current laws (or lack thereof) may be just enough fuel for the legislature to take a closer look at lay midwifery in PA.
This, however, could end up being a good thing for women and midwives all around. The midwives would be held to high standards and protected by those same standards. The women know the professional midwives meet these standards and are also protected by them. This is the way certified nurse midwives practice as well as doctors and nurses.
I know that lay midwifery at it's core clings to its independence and self-governance; but, perhaps in opening its arms to the scrutiny of law-makers and their own peers, it would be able to advance the practice of midwifery to being a viable, acceptable alternative to hospital births. It could only benefit everyone involved.
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