Missouri has their own midwifery drama

I thought the Utah legislative adventures were dramatic, but in Missouri things have been even more interesting. Last year, a senator tagged a brief amendment onto a health insurance bill allowing "tocological certification." No one looked twice at it. The word tocological was suggested by a homeschooled kid whose family was lobbying for the bill. Tokos is Greek for childbirth, tocology means the practice of midwifery or obstetrics.

The new law, after it was "discovered" by its opponents, was challenged in court. The Missouri Supreme Court recently found the law to be constitutional, so certified professional midwives (CPM) can now be lisenced in that state! Up until now, it has been a felony to practice midwifery (I'm assuming hospital-priveleged CNMs are legal).

See the Friends of Missouri Midwives site for more details.