Profession
Missouri stops midwife practice law
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 3, 2007
Missouri's certified professional midwives won't be allowed to deliver babies. A state judge in August ruled that the portion of a health insurance bill that allowed those midwives independence was unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction, according to the Missouri State Medical Assn.
At press time in mid-August, the Missouri Midwives Assn. had not decided whether to appeal the decision. It plans to put forward a midwifery bill in the next legislative session.
The Circuit Court of Cole County, 19th Judicial Circuit, decision upholds current state law, which considers delivering babies to be the practice of medicine and may be done only by a physician or a nurse midwife -- not a certified professional midwife -- in collaboration with a physician.
Four state physician organizations sued the state after Gov. Matt Blunt signed the bill in June. The MSMA, Missouri Assn. of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons, Missouri Academy of Family Physicians and St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society alleged the midwife provision was added inappropriately and that legislators were unaware of the addition.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/09/03/prbf0903.htm.
