One Last Thing Before the Mother of all Rallies

Information Sheet – Engaging with your local Federal MP - Will they support Women’s Rights?

The Problem

Currently the House of Representatives is debating the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 and two related bills to create Medicare funding, access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and Indemnity insurance support for midwives.  If passed into legislation in their current they will not provide funding or indemnity for homebirth midwives.  This legislation will then intersect with National Health Registration legislation (to come into force in July next year) that will require all health professionals to hold indemnity insurance.  This will prevent midwives providing homebirth care from registering and thus make their homebirth practice unlawful.

The Answer

We clearly want all health consumers to be treated equally and therefore ask that all related legislation include midwives caring for women at home.  We need to ask as many MP’s as possible what their view is and if they are prepared to support women making choices in healthcare. We are asking federal politicians to call on Nicola Roxon to provide a commonwealth supported indemnity product and for equality of funding under proposed Medicare arrangements. Minister Roxon has suggested one solution is to ask the states to implement state based  homebirth programs. Homebirth Australia does not support this approach (and has considerable experience and evidence to demonstrate this approach would be ad hoc at best. QLD Health Minister, Paul Lucas, has stated he will not implement any programs.

What We Want from our Local Federal MP?

Our politicians are our representatives.  We must ask them for what we need.  We believe this to be a serious infringement of a woman’s rights with the potential to be the beginning of a serious curtailing of individual freedoms.  Homebirth Australia and others recently met with Federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon.  We made it clear that the only sustainable solution is a federally supported indemnity insurance product.  Homebirth Australia will also continue to call for equal funding by including homebirth in the Medicare reforms.  It is absurd to create differing classes of consumers and midwives, especially considering the landmark nature of the reform.  Excluding homebirth from Medicare funding can only to appease parts of the medical profession that have philosophical objection to homebirth.  Clearly it will hurt consumers, especially those who are unable to fund a private homebirth midwife.

By writing to our local Federal MP’s, we will put them on notice that this issue matters and they will be held to account for their view.  If you are meeting face to face please either leave this with them at the end of the meeting or email it very soon after.  We ask that you fill in the ‘pro-forma’ letter attached and let us know the member you have contacted and their response.  As outlined in the letter if they do not respond we will take that to mean they agree that homebirth should be made unlawful.

If possible please add something personal, to the ‘pro-forma’ letter even if you can only manage a few lines!

WE HAVE 2 weeks until the “Mother of all Rallies” in Canberra on September 7.  The more politicians we contact the more we make this a serious ongoing political issue.  Please inform us of which MP you have sent the letter to and of your reply.  Notify us at campaign@homebirthaustralia.org

We will reveal those who support women’s choice in healthcare and those who don’t at the
MOTHER of all rallies, September 7 2009, Parliament House Canberra

 In solidarity
Justine Caines
Secretary - Homebirth Australia Inc
August 2009

{Date}
{Your name}
{Your address}

{Your local federal Politician’s Name}
{Address}

By E-mail: {politician’s e-mail}

{Dear  XX}

Re: The right of a woman to determine where and with whom her baby is born.

I write to express my concern regarding a woman’s access to private homebirth after July next year.  I understand that if the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 and two related Bills (Currently midway through debate in the House of Representatives) are passed without amendment they will intersect with Commonwealth law regarding the National Registration and Accreditation of Health Professionals and make private homebirth practice unlawful, once enacted after July 1 next year.

The Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009 and two related Bills enable Medicare funding, access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and professional indemnity premium support for midwives

Medicare funding for midwifery care is long overdue. It is not acceptable however to exclude homebirth from this funding and indemnity arrangement.  By doing this Australia is totally out of step with nations such as the United Kingdom, Canada, The Netherlands and New Zealand.

These nations support the rights of women to choose homebirth and fund a registered midwife through their national health scheme.  In New Zealand and the U.K women have a legislative right to choose homebirth. If Australia makes homebirth unlawful it will be on par with the U.S state of Alabama where homebirth is unlawful and capital punishment still exists.

I support a system where all consumers are treated equally, with the same access to funding and the same insurance protection. I am asking you to also support this. Can you please reply to me in writing with your clear response of YES or NO to the following?

I support women to make choices regarding their healthcare and believe homebirth should be funded under the Medicare Benefits Schedule with appropriate Commonwealth Indemnity support.
YES   / NO

Your response will be recorded with all other politicians at Homebirth Australia’s national rally to be held outside Parliament House on Monday September 7.  If you choose not to respond it will be recorded that you support homebirth becoming unlawful.

As my local representative I ask you to support equal rights for all birth choices.

{Please add your own comments here: ie invite them to the rally or to meet with you while you are in Canberra if you are coming to the rally}

Yours sincerely

{Your name}