This article appeared in Australia.to yesterday afternoon. I feel like we've had a big win - so much for Mr 3am
Under the Government's original proposal, homebirths were to become illegal unless a midwife could find a doctor willing to work in collaboration with them.
But now the government says it won’t force midwives to work in formal collaborative arrangements with doctors as a condition of insurance.
"The Rudd Government's backflip proves they clearly underestimated how important this issue was to Australian women,” Senator Fielding said.
“Women should have the right to choose whether they want to have a birth in a hospital or at home, and midwives that assist in either case should be able to access affordable indemnity cover.
“The Rudd Government created this mess because it wouldn’t listen to the community and its concerns.
“All too often this Government is intent on ramming legislation though to suit their agenda without seriously considering the consequences.
“The Rudd Government acknowledges it made an error in essentially making homebirths illegal when it announced at the 11th hour that it would give homebirth midwives a two-year reprieve from its changes.
Now the government needs to guarantee that women will be able to continue giving birth at home with the assistance of a registered midwife once the two-year reprieve has expired.
“Numerous studies have shown that for low-risk women with appropriate transfer-to-hospital options available, homebirths are at least as safe as births in hospitals or birth centres.”
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