Nationally recognized Certified Professional Midwife Karen Webster has been under fire by Delaware officials claiming she "practiced medicine without a license," and thus gave her a cease & desist order. Upwards of 50 or more supporters attended her hearing in Dover, De on Jan. 17, 2013 including children, mothers, fathers, grandparents, birth professionals, a doctor and others where Webster presented her case for midwifery versus medicine with just herself and an advocate as she could find no lawyer to take her case. The State of Delaware still seems displeased with her actions and defense. She wrote the following update on her Save The Midwife facebook page last night: "I am sad, but not surprised to say that I got the answer to my Delaware hearing and it was 28 pages - not in my favor. So the hunt for an attorney with the cojones to fight this fight with and for me begins again in earnest. I fight this for all the midwives who have or may be charged with "practicing medicine without a license" when what we practice is NOT medicine, but midwifery...I need your help, those of you in DE who believe that you should have access to qualified, licensed midwives for your homebirths." What can we do to help? Sign our petition: to change regulations to allow Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) to obtain permits to practice in Delaware so that families have the right to choose how they give birth. Licensure of CPMs will support an integrated maternity care system. Attend the upcoming Delaware Birth Network meeting: Wed. Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Kent County Public Library in Dover, De. Join the Delaware Friends of Midwives, the consumer group that is specifically for CPM licensure. Donations: "In a world where it feels like everyone is always asking for money, where we sometimes find ourselves wondering where the money we spent has actually gone, please be assured 100% of your donations will go DIRECTLY to Karen Webster, CPM. Click here to donate through Paypal. Click the "transfer" tab then "send someone money". From there enter our email [email protected] and the amount. You don’t have to have a Paypal account and you can use your credit or debit card. Karen’s dedication to the natural process of birth has changed countless lives, let us join together and donate to changing hers." - From the Save the Midwife Website Write to Delaware state legislators and other influential persons, including Governor Jack Markell: Karen asks us to "write to Governor Jack Markell about his Executive Order # 36, which called for a review of all DE statutes and regs that DE citizens thought were NOT working and ask him to review the testimony given at those meetings held this past October in Kent and New Castle counties, in favor of changing the regs to allow CPMs to get permitted to practice and stop being prosecuted!" FOLLOW THE STORY:
What will you do to help? What are your thoughts on Karen Webster's case or the midwife crisis in the United States?
5 Comments
2/20/2013 01:45:30 am
I would also encourage any Delaware residents who understand and support the importance of licensure & autonomy for CPMS, greater access to qualified midwifery care in the homebirth setting, not just for Amish & Mennonite families, but for ALL Delaware women, to:
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2/20/2013 02:05:01 am
Karen, thank you for these ideas! I have edited the blog to add them in as I know of people are still passing this story along. As always, love & blessings!
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Monika
2/23/2013 01:57:09 pm
Let's take this to the highest court in the nation & get NARM to back you! 8/9/2013 05:15:21 am
Choose a lawyer who will to solve your legal problems
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6/8/2014 04:46:48 pm
The State of Delaware still seems displeased with her actions and defense.
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