| Most people that know me know that I have quite a number of “soap box” topics that I am pretty passionate about. Although I have yet to get on a regular schedule with this whole blogging thing, my ‘health blog’ is designed to inform, educate and (hopefully) encourage. I usually refrain from using it as a format for ranting, but today I feel a full blown “rant” coming on. SB314 is a bill which is currently before the senate health committee that would allow for licensing of Certified Professional Midwives (CPM’s) here in Alabama. Currently in our state, while it is legal for a women to give birth at home, it is illegal for her to be assisted . . . even by a highly qualified, trained professional (certified midwives go through three to five years of education, including an average of 1,300 hours of clinical experience). Although there is widespread support for the bill, Senator Greg Reed, the Senate Health Committee Chairman, continues to indefinitely delay voting on SB314. According to a front page story in ‘The Tuscaloosa News’ (link to the article is provided below and I hope you will take time to read it), Senator Reed is not sure if he will allow SB314 to be brought up for a vote. He cites concerns over the training and certification process that is being proposed. The article quotes him as saying that “The last thing you want to do is rush into a vote or not have as much information as requested.” However, similar bills have been proposed the last two years. Actually similar bills were brought before the health committee in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011, and yet it has never been scheduled for a vote. It seems that since 2007, “someone” could have taken the time to thoroughly investigate the qualifications for CPM’s and gain understanding of the extensive training that is required to gain certification, getting all of these questions answered. I would rate this as a painfully S-L-O-W process, not a “rush” job for sure. Actually this is all part of a larger issue, one that involves the American Medical Association (AMA); the Medical Association of the State of Alabama (MASA); and Medical Associations of other states across America. Some years back, the AMA began a process of limiting the practice of health professionals (Scope Of Practice). They’ve done this through a combination of legislative, regulatory and judicial advocacy. In essence, they have legislated the control of health care providers and options to those that they sanction as being legitimate. And they have used your elected and appointed officials to do this. So now, if the AMA doesn’t approve . . . guess what? Yep, it’s illegal. For those that practice within the AMA umbrella, all provided patient care and information must fall under AMA standard procedures, otherwise practitioners can lose their license. In my opinion, the AMA has an extremely narrow view of “health care”. They are excellent at trauma care and do a pretty good job "taking care" of our diseases, but statistics tell us that their recommendations are not helping Americans attain better health. We spend more money on these wonderful medicines and medical procedures than virtually any other nation and yet we experience some of the highest rates of degenerative disease in the world. Common AMA sanctioned interventions often cause increased complications, which are usually ignored because they are the “standard of care”, set by the AMA which is “the authority” (a position that they appointed themselves to). In other words, they get a pass. In fact their own medical journal, the prestigious Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), has provided statistics that indicate that as many as 225,000 deaths a year are caused by medical interventions. In my naive way of thinking, if a person or organization has such a great idea or plan of action, they can present it and educate others about it. If it has merit, people will tend to go for it. So why is it that this medical giant feels the need to control our options? If vaccination is the best choice, simply educate people about it. No need to require compliance through legislation or strong-arming physicians into requiring that virtually ALL patients vaccinate under threat of not being able to have doctor privileges at the local children’s hospital. Really these issues are about freedom of choice. Freedom to make an educated decision . . . for myself and my family. Why is it that we have to fight to get back the freedoms that should automatically belong to us? Along the way, we have allowed the government to creep out of Washington and out of Montgomery and establish space in our homes. If you look around your own home and don’t see them there, don’t be fooled, look more closely. Thomas Jefferson once said "If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls who live under tyranny." Regardless of whether the topic of expanding birthing options in our state is important to you . . . . if you feel that we should have the freedom to make decisions about health care choices for our self and our family, please consider signing the petition below and calling your legislators about SB314 (plan of action and information about the bill is available on the Alabama Birth Coalition web site listed below). Petition: http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=1488f5fd6ecf1d503406a9d04&id=89f7f8f9ad
Blessings, Ginny |
| Health Freedom in Alabama . . . not so much |
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Written by Ginny Rawls