Daley Ponderings

I found a decent article that was written today.Clients, even Amish, supporting midwife charged in baby's death
JENNIFER C. YATES
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH - A midwife charged in the death of a baby is getting support from former clients and friends, and even from members of the Amish community.
Judith Wilson's supporters plan to gather outside a magistrate's office for her preliminary hearing Thursday. Supporters, some wearing white T-shirts with "I love my midwife" written in purple, say they plan a quiet vigil for Wilson, in part to honor her wishes but also in deference to the Amish who will be in attendance.
"We are asking for the magistrate to drop the case but also to bring to light the issue that there are still women who birth at home with midwives," said Vicki Pasterik, founder of the group Friends of Judy and president of Pennsylvanians for Birth Options.
In April, Wilson was charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2002 death of Isaac Daley. Isaac died two days after he was born feet first, or breech, and authorities argue Wilson should have sought medical assistance.
The boy's parents, Jonathan and Heather Daley, have supported Wilson.
Wilson was a certified professional midwife registered with the North American Registry of Midwives, a Lilburn, Ga., group that tests and certifies midwives every three years. Wilson voluntarily went on inactive status in November 2002.
But state officials say midwives in Pennsylvania must be a registered nurse and licensed by the state. Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht, who investigated the Wilson case, recommended she be charged. He has called on state lawmakers to address the issue of non-nurse midwives like Wilson.
Twenty-one states have laws regulating non-nurse midwives, said Susan Hodges, president of Athens, Ga.-based Citizens for Midwifery, a national nonprofit advocacy group. Such midwives, known as direct-entry midwives, typically are trained through midwifery schools or through apprenticeships.
In Pennsylvania, and many other states, no laws govern direct-entry midwifery so the practice is subject to judicial and statutory interpretation.
Hodges said direct-entry midwifery should be recognized and regulated by lawmakers, not prosecutors and judges. Had that been the case in Pennsylvania, there would be a process in place to investigate Isaac's death and it wouldn't have resulted in criminal charges, she said.
"How many doctors have criminal charges filed against them? Babies die in hospitals everyday," Hodges said. "Breech births sometime happen in taxi cabs, too. Birth is not like a machine. You can't predict everything. More and more technology does not make it more and more safe."
Stephen Colafella, Wilson's attorney, said, "the number of people that have rallied around this case and Judy especially has been overwhelming."
Pasterik helped set up a Web site for the Friends of Judy and it has gotten several thousand hits since last summer. The group is establishing an auction of baby-related items and is accepting monetary donations to help pay for Wilson's defense. They have gotten support from midwives from as far away as Zimbabwe and New Zealand, she said.
Pasterik said the case is really about preserving the right to give birth however one chooses.
"It's an issue that affects all women, not just people who give birth at home," said Pasterik, of Corry, who used Wilson as a midwife in the births of three of her five children.
This is especially true in the Amish community, where midwifery is a cultural and religious issue, said Katherine Prown, of Fox Point, Wis., who has been an advocate for midwives for more than 20 years. The Amish shun going to modern hospitals and need access to direct-entry midwives.
"The Amish in Pennsylvania are very protective of their midwives and they feel very strongly that they would like to maintain access to direct entry midwives," Prown said.
Prown has three children, all born with a midwife in attendance. The midwife she used in Virginia in the early 1990s was charged with practicing medicine without a license, which led Prown to organize other clients to rally for the woman's support.
"These cases need to be addressed through the Legislature and not the courts," Prown said.
---
http://www.friendsofjudy.org
North American Registry of Midwives: http://www.narm.org
Citizens for Midwifery: http://www.cfmidwifery.org