What is LB 712?
This bill is currently "in committee".
To understand what that means and to learn more about the lawmaking process in Nebraska in general, click here! You will find an engaging primer on the NFOM blog.
LB 712 is the 2012 bill to remove the home birth exclusion from the Nebraska statues governing Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs). Since 1983, when their practice was first established in Nebraska, it has been a crime for CNMs to attend home birth.
Our state, one of only two that will not allow a CNM to attend a birth in the family home, is far behind in modern midwifery care. Recent studies like the one published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal make clear that birth with a midwife is associated with fewer interventions than non-midwife caregivers, and that birth at home can be just as safe as hospital birth.
Despite a lack of practical access to home birth attendants recognized by the state, home births in Nebraska increased by 30% between 2005 and 2010, a rate that is at least keeping up with and possibly exceeding the national rate of increase.
Passage of LB 712 is not the only step necessary to gain practical access to CNM-attended home birth in Nebraska, but it is an important one.
What Can an Individual Do to Support LB 712?
(Not a Nebraskan but want to help? The green sections include you!)
Sign the petition here!
Click to View Talking Points!
"I always feel the movement is a sort of mosaic. Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end." -Alice Paul
1. Individuals can contact the members of the Nebraska Health and Human Services Committee to let them know their of their own support, and can ask them to vote to pass it through the floor of the unicameral. The Health and Human Services committee is one for fourteen standing committees that hears bills in order to determine if they should be heard by all the senators in the unicameral on the legislative floor. Imagine the committee members as gate keepers charged with the task of determining who is allowed passage. Once they hear a bill, committee members can:
Contacting the HHS Committee can be done by anyone- you do not need to be a lobbyist, a member of the medical community, an attorney, a member of the senators' respective districts, or even a Nebraskan to contact these individuals. It is not important to share every reason that Nebraskans deserve the CNM-attended home birth option, it is important to share your reason.
Hearing from consumers, CNMs, other nurses, physicians, academics, advocates, legal professionals and others who already enjoy access to CNM-attended home birth in their own states or countries can help provide a larger frame for the picture of home birth. It is good for legislators to know that other states and nations with more modern midwifery laws are watching this last home birth frontier with interest.
*Letters written before the hearing (February 22) should include the words: "To Be Included as Written Testimony in the Hearing for LB 712."
Letters written after the hearing can continue to inform committee members that the issue is important to Nebraskans, and encourage them to vote the bill through to the unicameral floor.
Names and contact information for members of the Health and Human Services Committee are:
Sign the petition here!
Click to View Talking Points!
"I always feel the movement is a sort of mosaic. Each of us puts in one little stone, and then you get a great mosaic at the end." -Alice Paul
1. Individuals can contact the members of the Nebraska Health and Human Services Committee to let them know their of their own support, and can ask them to vote to pass it through the floor of the unicameral. The Health and Human Services committee is one for fourteen standing committees that hears bills in order to determine if they should be heard by all the senators in the unicameral on the legislative floor. Imagine the committee members as gate keepers charged with the task of determining who is allowed passage. Once they hear a bill, committee members can:
- vote "no" and kill a bill in committee
- vote to postpone taking action (a vote is either then taken later, or the bill dies in committee at the end of the two-year legislative session)
- not take a vote at all (bill dies in committee at the end of the two-year legislative session)
- vote a bill through to the legislative floor where it has the opportunity to be heard and discussed by all district senators
Contacting the HHS Committee can be done by anyone- you do not need to be a lobbyist, a member of the medical community, an attorney, a member of the senators' respective districts, or even a Nebraskan to contact these individuals. It is not important to share every reason that Nebraskans deserve the CNM-attended home birth option, it is important to share your reason.
Hearing from consumers, CNMs, other nurses, physicians, academics, advocates, legal professionals and others who already enjoy access to CNM-attended home birth in their own states or countries can help provide a larger frame for the picture of home birth. It is good for legislators to know that other states and nations with more modern midwifery laws are watching this last home birth frontier with interest.
*Letters written before the hearing (February 22) should include the words: "To Be Included as Written Testimony in the Hearing for LB 712."
Letters written after the hearing can continue to inform committee members that the issue is important to Nebraskans, and encourage them to vote the bill through to the unicameral floor.
Names and contact information for members of the Health and Human Services Committee are:
|
Sen. Kathy Campbell
District 25 Room #1402 P.O. Box 94604 Lincoln, NE 68509 Phone: (402) 471-2731 Email: kcampbell@leg.ne.gov Sen. Mike Gloor District 35 Room #1523 P.O. Box 94604 Lincoln, NE 68509 Phone: (402) 471-2617 Email: mgloor@leg.ne.gov |
Sen. Dave Bloomfield
District 17 Room #1117 P.O. Box 94604 Lincoln, NE 68509 Phone: (402) 471-2716 Email: dbloomfield@leg.ne.gov Sen. Bob Krist District 10 Room #1117 P.O. Box 94604 Lincoln, NE 68509 Phone: (402) 471-2718 Email: bkrist@leg.ne.gov |
Sen. Tanya Cook
District 13 Room #1208 P.O. Box 94604 Lincoln, NE 68509 Phone: (402) 471-2727 Email: tcook@leg.ne.gov Sen. R. Paul Lambert District 02 Room #1522 P.O. Box 94604 Lincoln, NE 68509 Phone: (402) 471-2613 Email: plambert@leg.ne.gov |
Sen. Gwen Howard
District 09 Room #1124 P.O. Box 94604 Lincoln, NE 68509 Phone: (402) 471-2723 Email: ghoward@leg.ne.gov |
2. Those outside Nebraska can also help by contacting their own knowledgeable, supportive state senators to ask them to call Nebraska legislators to provide information about CNM-attended birth in their own respective states. Hearing from other legislators that the state-regulation of CNM-attended home birth is working well in other states also provides perspective to the issue.
3. Supporters can participate in a letter-writing campaign. Host or attend!
4. Nebraskans can contact their own district senators. Senators need to know home birth is an issue that is important to their constituents and deserving of attention. Nebraskans can ask their senators to:
- contact the members of the HHS Committee and request that they vote the bill through to the floor, and
- support the bill when it is heard on the floor.
Whether calling a senator's office to schedule a meeting or converse over the phone the first person a caller usually encounters is a senator's legislative aide or other office staff. Staff members are usually able to schedule meetings, and will connect callers with senators when possible. Senators, however, are often already occupied, so leaving a message, requesting a return call, and calling again later are all fine options. Informing the staff that the call is about LB 712 is considerate and allows the senator to become familiar with the bill before returning the call.
If drafting a letter, be sure to include your name and address. Tell your senator that you are a constituent and you need his/her help to make Nebraska laws work for you.
Sometimes it is good to simply ask one's senator what he or she already knows about the bill and home birth, and what ideas he or she currently has about the issue. While senators have likely experienced the birth of their own children, our senators are not experts in the areas of midwifery and birth. Your personal experiences are powerful, and your senator needs need to hear about why you are passionate. As a consumers we do not need to be experts in the field- any questions a senator might have that can’t be answered on the spot can easily be addressed later in a follow-up letter or phone call. Keep in mind, however, that you are the expert in you and what you want for your family.
5. Nebraskans can testify at a Health and Human Services Committee hearing, when one is scheduled. Committee hearings are important because they are the gateway to the floor of the unicameral. General tips for testifying at a hearing are available here. It is not necessary, but can be helpful to coordinate efforts with NFOM in order to streamline testimony ideas. Testimony can be presented in person, or written and mailed to the office of the Health and Human Services committee chair (Sen. Kathy Campbell) in advance.
Letters intended as testimony must be clearly marked:
"Please include this letter as written testimony for the hearing on LB 712."
6.Donate funds to help NFOM raise awareness and advocate! No amount is too big or small. Help cover the cost of supplies for various awareness, advocacy, and lobbying efforts. Help NFOM buy a button-maker and supplies, or M&Ms for Capitol Cookie days, or donate to the general fund. Please attach a message to your donation indicating your intention.
7. Individuals can participate in rallies and other public demonstrations of support. The Capitol rally on January 18 was a great success!
Check out
http://journalstar.com/news/unicameral/cindy-lange-kubick-hoping-not-to-break-the-law-when/article_c4618ec2-3854-51ba-97b5-3befd185b1c9.html?mode=comments
and
http://www.1011now.com/home/headlines/Rally_for_Home_Birth_Rights_137628263.html
Check the facebook page for events.
8. There are other, more indirect ways to support LB 712. General involvement with NFOM can afford a variety of opportunities.
Here are a couple of links to recent home birth stories in the media:
Home Births in U.S. Rise to Highest Level on Record, Health Study Shows
Home Births On The Rise In U.S.
Home Births Grow More Popular In U.S.
These stories are all based on this report:
Home Births in the United States, 1990–2009
