Help Pennsylvania Make a Difference NOW on Global Warming!

Take Action: Help Pennsylvania Make a Difference NOW on Global Warming
October 18, 2007
The time to act is now! Pennsylvania has a chance to become part of the solution to global warming rather than continuing to be a major part of the problem.

Pennsylvania alone contributes one percent of the heat-trapping pollution that causes global warming, more than 105 developing nations combined. We are also third worst in the nation, behind only California and Texas, for production of greenhouse gases.

Fortunately, bipartisan legislation is coming up for votes in the Pennsylvania House and Senate next week. These global warming bills need YOUR support, so that we can turn the legislation into meaningful action.

TAKE ACTION! Please act now to contact your State Representative to VOTE YES on House Bill 110, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, bipartisan legislation that creates a global warming strategy in Pennsylvania to protect our citizens’ health and our economy. Once you’ve taken action, you will be prompted to send a message to the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee in advance of their committee vote on Senate Bill 266, the Pennsylvania Global Warming Act (a nearly identical bill as HB 110).

More medical industry B.S.

Found a link to this today on a message board.
I guess taking your money when you're dying isn't enough for the medical industry. Now they insist on taking it on the way in, too.
'Cause God knows squatting in the field and popping out a baby killed off the human race a long time ago...


Source:
http://www.savehomebirth.com/news_and_views

In an unexpectedly aggressive move Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Board of Medicine began a campaign to end homebirth, a practice common among the Amish and Plain communities here in Lancaster County.


Board of Medicine Decision Press Release:
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA -
SEPTEMBER 27, 2007

HOMEBIRTH MIDWIFE IS ORDERED TO CEASE AND DESIST BY THE STATE BOARD OF MEDICINE

The State Board of Medicine today ordered Diane Goslin, a Pennsylvania midwife who attends the homebirths of the Amish and Plain communities, to “cease and desist from the practice of medicine and midwifery.” Additionally, she was fined $11,000.

Goslin, a Certified Professional Midwife, who attended over 5,000 successful homebirths and trained many professional midwives, received her certification from NARM (North American Registry of Midwives) in 1998. Accordingly, she has received appropriate training and education, demonstrated competent midwifery skill levels as affirmed by peer-review and successfully passed nationally standardized examinations. Although 23 States grant midwifery licenses to midwives who achieve NARM certification, Pennsylvania does not.

While homebirth attended by a midwife has been a traditional practice within Pennsylvania Amish and Plain communities, this less costly practice has recently been under attack from the state medical board. The number of families choosing homebirth continues to increase as medical research demonstrates its safety and cost effectiveness.

The CDC recently released a report that shows national maternal mortality rates (Aug, 2007 National Health Statistics) are the highest they have been in decades. One of the factors, they say, is the rising Cesarean birth rate.

In an effort to achieve a safe and satisfying birth, women are beginning to choose homebirth as an option. "The system is broken," said Dr. Marsden Wagner, the former director of Women and Children's Health at the World Health Organization. "The United States has the second worst newborn mortality rate in the developed world, despite the fact that it's one of the most expensive maternity care systems."

In the UK, homebirth was recently adopted as an option for birthing women by the National Health Dept., which stated in 2006, "We are committed to offering all women the choice of how and where they give birth." In April 2007, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (the UK equivalent to the US ACOG), released a joint statement with the Royal College of Midwives stating their support for home birth.

"A recommendation made by the Georgia Study Commission on Midwifery is applicable to Pennsylvania," said Ida Darragh, Director of NARM. "When a state has an underground network of health care providers, it needs to deal with the situation responsibly through regulation rather than prosecution."

Goslin's lawyers plan to appeal the Medical Board's decision.

UPDATE:
November 2, 2007
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07306/830513-85.stm