MIDWIVES’ ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON STATE (MAWS)
2009 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Watch for the MAWS 2010 Legislative Agenda coming soon. Here's a review of our legislative work in 2009.

Faced with the worst budget crisis ever, legislators in Washington looked for ways to cut costs any way they could. With support from midwives and midwifery consumers throughout the state, the MAWS legislative committee successfully fought off attempts during this session to eliminate both the Midwifery Advisory Committee, a legislatively mandated entity that advises the Department of Health about regulatory matters affecting licensed midwifery, and the Joint Underwriting Association (JUA), the only avenue through which midwives and free-standing birth centers in Washington can obtain liability insurance.

We also managed to get a budget proviso passed to avoid the proposed licensing fee increase to $1,500-$2,000 a year! The proviso maintains the current $450/year cap on the midwifery licensing fee for the 2009-2011 biennium. Our strategy this year has been to play offense, rather than defense. Instead of pleading with legislators to preserve licensed midwifery and the option of out-of-hospital birth, we approached them with the concept that licensed midwifery is part of the solution. In tough economic times, it makes more sense than ever to promote this safe and cost-effective form of care for low-risk pregnant women. MAWS also lobbied for passage of a bill to protect mothers nursing in public which also passed!