Thanks to everyone's hard work and persistence...

...Wednesday, Feb. 20th, 2008 was a very good day for midwifery at the Missouri Capitol!

We scored a huge victory when the Senate Committee on Pensions, Veterans Affairs, and General Laws (Senator Jason Crowell, chairman) voted 5-1 to combine SB870 and SB1021 and then 5-1 "Do pass" on the combined bill.

The Committee in executive session, discussing combining the midwifery repeal bill,
and the midwifery licensure bill.

"Okay, I'll deliver cookies to the third floor representatives' offices. And you do the Senate side..."
Carissa and Anna

In previous years, midwifery bills have just barely squeaked out of the General Laws committee, even though there has always been a large amount of support from the whole Senate body. I believe this change to an overwhelming amount of support was largely due to the increasing amount of people who have become involved in educating their legislators about midwifery and advocating for it to become a priority in the Missouri legislature.

If you were one of those people faithfully attending in-district meetings, sending emails and letters, making phone calls, etc, you can claim part of this victory!

We literally saw the attitudes of the committee members change over the past week or two as more and more people have contacted them in support of legalizing and licensing Certified Professional Midwives in Missouri. Keep it up! It's an election year, and they want to know what the hot topics are, and also which side the majority of their constituents support!

Part of the hard working crew that volunteered all day Wednesday at the Capitol.
(Unfortunately, all the families from Southeast Missouri had already left when we thought to take a picture. The crowd was much bigger for most of the day!)

Cookie Day, Feb. 13, 2008, Missouri Capitol

Here they come, laden with boxes and bags and strollers full of cookies, all to be given away to lawmakers!

The entrance to the alcove where the action was all morning! Kelly and Laurel behind the welcome table, Jonathan on the left. Summer's squatting in the foreground to talk to a child...

Susan (left) reports back on her visits and cookie deliveries (Mary and Alicia and the right). We're all shocked that she has just had a very friendly 20 minute visit with one of the older State Representatives who's always grumpy and says nasty things about the midwives if he even sees them walking down the hall.
"How did you get in to see him?!" we all ask in amazement.
Susan smiles.
"Well, I was just delivering cookies at his office, when he stepped out of the door and asked if we had brought him his favorite kind, Oatmeal Raisin. I apologized that they were chocolate chip, but said they were good anyway. Then I glimpsed his big plushy leather sofa inside the office door, and pointed at my pregnant belly. In my sweetest, nicest voice I said, 'I'm pregnant and need to put up my feet for a few minutes. How 'bout we go sit in your office and chat?' And then we found out that he is friends with my brother... and soon we began talking about midwifery. He told me what he thought, and I got to clarify some stuff with him... Anyway, I like him, and I think that I'll go visit him again. He just might vote for us!"

Koda, Kyan, Ruth, and Kalee delivering cookies - they were so pleased that their assignment sheet listed Senator Graham's office as one to deliver to. Unfortunately, they didn't get to see him, just his secretary who was very happy with the cookies.

After lunch, and several hours of cookie delivering, those who were still there gathered round in the alcove for a Friends of Missouri Midwives meeting. It was neat to hear from so many new people who showed up for Cookie Day why birth and midwifery are important to them.

The First Day of the 2008 Legislative Session!

Wednesday, January 9, is the first day of the 2008 Legislative Session at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The legislators will return to the Capitol to begin working on a whole bevy of ideas and bills.

For the legislators, the first day of session is not really much of a work day. It's usually a day to catch up with all of their friends that they haven't seen since May when the last legislative session ended. It's a time to greet new friends, to bring family and friends to the Capitol for a tour or a party, to listen to speeches given by the Leadership of the legislative bodies about all of the great things that everyone hopes to accomplish, and to enjoy the day. They will head home on Thursday.

The first day of session is not a good day to lobby legislators, except by making your presence known in a friendly "welcome back!" way. Of course, small talk in the halls and elevators leads to questions about what is going to happen with midwifery this year, and perhaps an opinion offered about the way people are feeling about the issue. It's a good day to be at the Capitol, if you're good at just listening, smiling, and offering friendly hello's to everyone you see. If you want to come on a day when you can actual make appointments to see legislators to talk to them about midwifery, next week would be much better - especially Tuesday or Wednesday.

Next Week: The legislators will be in session at the Capitol next week from Monday afternoon through Thursday morning. They will have extra free time to talk to constituents about issues and bills as their days will not yet be full of committee hearings, votes, and all the craziness and business that accompanies session later in the year as hundreds of bills are moving.

If you can schedule a day or two to come help us educate legislators at the capitol, or would like to help in some other way, please email me at:
better_birth {at} yahoo {dot} com, or call me at: 417-543-4258.

Your voice can and will make a difference! Use it to change your world!