Why is a Midwife Bill Sponsor Accepting Funds from the Hospital Association
- Sandy Glenn, LM MBC
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- Sep 13, 2021
- 4 min read
SC House of Representatives Sponsor introduced a bill that will put the midwives under the Medical Board with no authority to regulate or have meaningful participation in their own profession.
In the Spring of 2021, Erickson told midwifery spokespersons that she planned to introduce a bill to help midwives and consumers of midwifery care. She showed them a bill draft but introduced an entirely different bill at the end of the legislative 2021 session.
Erickson claims that she is working for the midwives, but she ignored the midwifery agencies recommendations for a bill. Her own bill, H.4394, is almost the complete opposite of the endorsed Midwife Practice Act, H.3510.
Erickson's bill in comparison to the approved bill and her first bill draft:
Deleted the Board of Midwifery
Put Midwifery under the Board of Medicine
Gave the Medical Board complete control over midwifery regulations and enforcement
Removed educational requirements that would improve access to midwifery education and encourage local colleges to add midwifery degrees
But Erickson insist that she has done all of these things with good intentions. She now calle the bill a "working draft" despite not responding to the midwives proposals on the first draft that was not introduced in the House and did not become a bill.
"Please understand that this is a working draft with a number and there is PLENTY of time and interest to get the team together"
Just a question Ms. Erickson, What is a "working draft" because according to the statehouse registry, H.4394 is a bill and not a draft.
So now, after House meetings have ended for the year, Erickson has called a few meetings with midwifery consumers, but has not yet reached back out to the official midwifery organization. According to many who attended those meetings, Erickson says she will amend the bill after House goes into session in January and she would like the support of the midwifery community.
If Erickson's history with midwifery tells us anything, it's that WE MUST BE PREPARED to fight when session begins in January. Help stop the bill HERE.
The Fall of 2020, DHEC drafted a midwifery regulation proposal that was dangerous to the consumers of midwifery care. The bad regulation left DHEC and went to the Regulation Sub-Committee that only had four member. One of those members was Shannon Erickson.
The sub-committee has 60 days to reject the regulation or it is considered accepted and moves on to FULL committee where the same process begins again.
"That is why, even after the revisions left our committee, I kept a close eye on them and did all I could to make sure that the revisions were rejected."
WHAT!!! Why would Erickson allow the bad regulation to leave her committee?? The sub-committee had the opportunity to STOP the regulation but they did not meet or vote. Instead, by lack of action, they allowed the bad regulation to pass it's first legislative approval.
Midwifery supporters had to plead with Senators to stop the bad regulation by introducing a Joint Resolution after Erickson's committee allowed it to pass.
The midwives and their concerns are very important to me .... but we also need for you to realize that our attention has been divided ... a state budget ... These tasks must take priority
INTRODUCED H.4394 A BILL THAT HINDERS ACCESS TO MIDWIFERY CARE
PASSED DANGEROUS DHEC REGULATIONS
DID NOT COLABORATE WITH THE MIDWIFERY ORGANIZTIONS BEFORE SUBMITTING A HARMFUL BILL
USES LANGUAGE SIMILAR TO THE PERINATAL INTEGRATION ACT S.379 BUT HAS NONE OF THE AUTHORITY TO HELP MOMS AND BABIES
AND NOW WE SEE THAT SHE HAS THE HIGHEST DONATION AMOUNT FROM THE HOSPTIAL ASSOCIATION
According to SOUTH CAROLINA State Ethics Commission Public Disclosure and Accountability Reporting System while consumers of midwifery care were meeting with DHEC Board members desperately fighting to stop the Bad Regulation Draft, Erickson got a $1000 campaign contribution from the Hospital Association.
One Thousand Dollars ($1,000) appears to be the highest campaign contribution from the Hospital Association and believe it or not, they don't appear to contribute to many representatives.
What does it mean when a member of the regulations committee accepts a $1,000 contribution from the Hospital Association and then allows bad midwife regulations to pass her committee?
THE BILL HAS A LOT OF CO-SPONSORS
On the day H.4394 was introduced 14 other Representatives co-sponsored the bill. Many have said that they were lead to believe that the bill was created in collaboration with the midwifery organizations and was endorsed.
Many co-sponsored promised to remove their names from the bill, but with just a few days of special session left in the season only Steward Jones and Melissa Oremus actually removed their names.
We are shocked to see former supporters of midwifery now sponsoring a bill that could effectively end the profession and leave alternative birth women without a licensed provider.
Who needs to remove their name as a co-sponsor?
Erickson, Bradley, Burns, Haddon, Chumley, West, Herbkersman, Bennett, McGarry, Elliott, Fry, Kimmons, Crawford and Thayer
When session begins again in January 2022, CSCM will be watching this bill closely in hopes that it does not move. We will continue to contact the representatives who need to remove their sponsorship. We will also express our concerns to committee chairs and ask that the bill not move forward or be placed upon any agenda.
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