Babies, mothers and midwives in Dail picket over threat to choice in childbirth

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Monday November 01, 2010 20:21 by AIMS Ireland - Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services chair at aimsireland dot com

AIMS Ireland and other birth support groups are picketing the Dail at 11 am on Wednesday, November 3rd to highlight their concerns about the Nurses and Midwives Bill 2010.

On Thursday 4th November the Nurses and Midwives Bill 2010 moves to Committee stage in the Dail. AIMS Ireland and other birth support groups are picketing the Dail at 11 am on Wednesday, November 3rd to highlight their concerns about the Bill.

If passed as it stands, the Bill will effectively remove a woman’s right to choose how she gives birth. ‘Section 40 as worded amounts effectively to a breach of the European Convention of Human Rights’ said Krysia Lynch, Co-Chair AIMSI. ‘Like the Constitution, the Convention is seen as protecting the right to bodily integrity. Section 40 in effects breaches women’s right to bodily integrity in childbirth.’

AIMS Ireland has called for a stay of execution on Section 40 until the controversial insurance criteria it underpins are revised. The Section criminalises midwives in the community who practice without insurance. ‘The State currently provides that indemnity on terms that heavily restrict the practice of self-employed midwives and make it impossible for many women to access their services’, explains Ms Lynch.

AIMS Ireland will present a petition challenging this section of the Bill to the Minister for Health and to Opposition Health Spokespersons on Wednesday morning. The petition currently stands at over 2 700 signatures.

‘Section 40 as it stands locks in a situation where women are unable to access midwife-led and home birth maternity care, unless they fall within the highly exclusionary criteria currently operated by the HSE. Women’s rights in childbirth are at stake here, as well as midwives’ right to practice’, Krysia Lynch underlined.

The law recognises the right of an individual to make informed decisions on medical treatment. ‘The insurance package currently underpinning Section 40 undermines such rights.’

Ireland’s maternity system offers women an over-stretched, under-resourced, and hyper-medicalised service, said AIMS Ireland. ‘Many women feel the system does not reflect their needs. They want the right to choose a midwife-led care option, one that respects their wishes and offers minimum medical intervention. They also want the right to choose home birth.’

‘If this Bill is passed, these rights will be taken away from many women,’ said Krysia Lynch.

‘The Bill as it stands removes options from thousands of women. For instance, a woman who turns 40 the day before she gives birth will find her planned home birth withdrawn on age grounds, although no worthwhile evidence exists for this exclusion.

‘The HSE have got this very wrong. You either recognise an individual’s right to accept or reject medical treatment or you don’t. You can’t chop and change human rights to suit the health service,” added Ms Lynch.

Other groups joining the picket on Wednesday include the Homebirth Association of Ireland, Birth Choice Clare, the Community Midwives Association, The Doula Association of Ireland, Self-Employed Community Midwives, and the National Birth Alliance.
“This picket is a chance for women to come together with their families to express their concerns. What women want are better services in maternity care and the right to give birth as they choose,’ concluded Lynch.

More details on the picket can be found on the AIMS Ireland website www.aimsireland.com