(Shelbyville) Courthouse Rally Supports Midwife

[hippiechick]

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=4389198

Courthouse Rally Supports Midwife

Shelbyville, Jan. 20 - Outside the Shelby County courthouse was an event that turned out to be a family affair. Mothers, a few dads and their children were hoping to send a message from downtown Shelbyville all the way to the Statehouse. Andrea Tian believes, "If midwives are prosecuted, home birth families will have nobody to attend to them."

The rally Friday centers around Jennifer Williams, a midwife charged with practicing medicine without a license. Williams assisted a minister and his wife during the birth of their child at their home last June. According to court documents, the baby became "physically distressed" and later died despite Williams' attempts to resuscitate and medically treat the child.

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Unlike certain religious groups which believe in home birth without medical treatment, Williams says she is nationally certified as a midwife and has helped with nearly 1,500 births in her 17-year career. "We interact and work with the medical community and we do very low risk home birth." In the state of Indiana only registered nurses can be certified as midwives.

Many of Williams supporters, like Bonnie Sydow, consider it a matter of choice. "I think home birth is safe and legal and I want it to be an option that I can always have for childbirth. It's a legislative issue, not a criminal issue."


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