Community Corner

Rally Supports Change in Law to Help Midwives

Proposal would end requirement that midwives be affiliated with a doctor.

Rockland County legislators Harriet Cornell and Connie Coker and state Senate candidate David Carlucci along with dozens of residents from around the Hudson Valley joined Licensed Midwives friends and family at the Haverstraw Bay Park in support of the passage of the Midwifery Modernization Act. 

David Carlucci, who is Clarkstown's town Clerk, said that if he is elected as the next state senator for Rockland and part of Orange County  he would support the passage of the Midwifery Modernization Act (S5007), which will eliminate the requirement for a Licensed Midwife to have a written practice agreement with a physician.

According to Coker, a retired licensed Midwife, this law will mean "that physicians can not limit a woman's choice as to her provider when pregnant. Midwives are highly-educated, have stringent licensure requirements, and are expert at knowing when to collaborate and consult with physicians. The midwifery model of care is the reason for the excellent outcomes we see with midwife-attended births."

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