MEDIA RELEASE: Sunday, November 8th, 2009
Amendment hands control over women’s choice to Doctors.
Across Australia women are pushing to get the Rudd Government to stand up to the medical lobby. In Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth hundreds of women will protest outside key electorate offices voicing their anger over legislative changes which restrict women’s access to midwives and restrict women’s choices.
The “Medicare for midwives” Bills have been amended to require midwives to have collaborative arrangements with medical practitioners before they are eligible for professional indemnity insurance. Private practice midwives registration will rest in the hands of doctors instead of regulators. Under this arrangement women’s access to Medicare rebates for midwifery care will rest with doctors.
Speaking at the Sydney rally Lisa Metcalfe, a mother of four and the National President of Maternity Coalition, said “Essentially we are concerned that this results in medical veto over midwifery practice and women’s choice to midwifery care in any setting.” “We are asking Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tanya Plibersek and Stephen Smith to guarantee that Australian women’s birthing rights are protected,” said Ms Metcalfe
“Women have gone to great lengths to have their voices heard over the powerful medical lobby with over 1950 submissions to the Senate inquiry into homebirth and more than 3000 people participating in the homebirth rally at Parliament House in September. Here we are again, we will be heard and we expect our views to be taken seriously. “ said Ms Metcalfe Collaborative arrangement with obstetricians and GPs will be a requirement to obtain insurance cover for midwives, but there is no requirement for doctors to provide these arrangements.
“From July 1st next year women seeking primary maternity care with midwives will have virtually no access to registered midwives. These women are pregnant now. “ said Ms Metcalfe “Kevin Rudd has said the health reform buck stops with him. We are asking that he guarantees that maternity reform places Australian women first and at the centre of primary health care reform. Proposed amendments to the Nursing and Midwifery Bills will restrict women’s access to primary care and led to further increases in the already skyrocketing rates of intervention in obstetric practice,” said Ms Metcalfe. “We intend to make sure the PM understands that women will not accept choice being removed via medical veto over midwifery care.”
Media contact: Lisa Metcalfe President, Maternity Coalition 02 4268 1675 or 0437 577 576