Just as abortion was forced underground when made illegal, so too will homebirth be forced underground. Those few who are brave enough to stand up to this law will be placed in the untenable position of giving birth alone and unassisted not because they choose free birth (which is another choice again) but because they feel they have no other option if they wish to avoid undue interference in their birth process.
Hospitals are in a position of power over a laboring woman, they have been known to coerce, cajole, and terrify women into submitting to procedures which routinely lead to further invasive procedures, dramatically increasing the need for pain relief, risk of forceps delivery and or cesarean birth. If Homebirth is taken away as a viable and safe option then soon Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) will also be made unavailable as hospitals care more for their insurance than patient care and put VBAC in the too risky category (the actual risk of uterine rupture in VBAC birth as opposed to non VBAC birth is only 2%).
What you can do
Tell your friends. Pass on this email to anyone you can think of whether you think they would be interested or not and ask them to follow the link below and sign the petition.
Whether or not you have had a home birth or a hospital birth, known anyone who has had a home birth or not, had children of your own or not, I ask that you weigh in on this issue before another one of our basic Natural Law rights and freedoms becomes a mere memory. At the very least I ask that you follow the link below and add your name to the petition to support safe, effective midwifery practice in Australia and end this archaic approach childbirth.
Get really active. Write to or arrange to meet your local MP and lobby for homebirth to be supported not marginalized.
