"I think last
week was Historic--I'm not sure it has ever happened before. Last year, a bill
to allow midwives and doulas to care for incarcerated women passed our state
House of Representatives, but the sponsors ran out of time before it got to the
Senate. This year, after several members from BOTH parties stood to talk about
their great experiences with midwives, and a former corrections officer who had
voted NO last year ("those" women don't deserve it) said he had been
educated in the meantime and now was going to vote yes, the yes vote in the
House was UNANIMOUS. Then the sponsor asked the Speaker to recognize the 50+ midwives
in the gallery who were there for Lobby Day, and as they stood, with tears in
their eyes, the entire chamber, both parties, gave them a STANDING OVATION for
the work they do!!!! Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? Since when do
entire chambers of legislators give standing ovations to midwives? Well it
happened Thursday, January 18, 2018 in the House of Representatives of
Washington State, the result of over 20 years of building relationships on
lobby days and in between."
Cynthia B. Flynn, CNM, PhD,
FACNM
Principal, FlynnCNM Birth Center Consulting
Past President, American Association of Birth Centers
Expert Midwife, pregnancy.org
