Georgia Friends of Midwives
Calendar

This page contains a list of Georgia Friends of Midwives events, and key milestones. For a summary of the last several years, go to the Archives page.

In addition, we maintain the following prioritized lists of what we're working on currently, and what we plan to do in the future:

  • Currently:
     
    HOMEBIRTH DAY AT THE GA CAPITOL update     
    Thursday, March 23, 2006 starting at 9:00 am we will gather under the dome
    inside the capitol in downtown Atlanta.  We will then be directed to room
    #125 where there will be food (juice, bagels, etc).  Yay!

    Once we’re in room #125, we will be handed “Homebirth” stickers to wear & to
    give out.  We will also be instructed on how to pull our Rep from the house
    floor, what to say, etc.  Gasp!  I know- this spooks some of you! 

    At about 10:00-10:15 we will then go to the 4th floor (the Galley) which
    overlooks the House floor.  There are 200 seats there, but w/ standing room,
    there’s space for 400!

    The House session will be opened w/ a prayer and Reps. Benfield & Thomas
    will speak & introduce us (all above the House in the Galley!) and state
    that we are all there for HR 1341! (this is our cue to literally hoot &
    holler in support of homebirth midwifery!!!) Then the House session will
    begin, where HR 1341 will be read!

    At this point, we are free to move around- go outside, stay inside, go pull
    Reps off the House floor (put a Homebirth sticker on them!).  It is
    important for us to BE SEEN!  BABIES, MOMMAS, DADDIES, GRANDPAS, FRIENDS.
    PLEASE BRING THE MEN IN YOUR LIFE WHO SUPPORT HOMEBIRTH.  THIS IS NOT JUST A
    WOMAN’S ISSUE- THIS IS A FAMILY ISSUE!

    If you cannot make it by 9 am, that is OK, just know we will be in room #125
    until about 10 am before we will be directed to the Gallery before the House
    session starts.  Please bring your signs, banners, wear your
    homebirth-advocacy t-shirts, etc.  This is just one day of your life- please
    take a few hours out of your life to come to this historic event!  When
    licensure for Direct Entry Midwifery is introduced to the House next year,
    our Reps will be WELL informed of not only the obvious facts of the safety &
    effectiveness of homebirth, but they will KNOW that this issue matters to
    Georgia families!

    If you cannot make it next week, please contact Speaker of the House Glen
    Richardson. He is against funding our study committee. He said that infant
    mortality went down when hospitals started doing births. Call him ASAP.
    glenn.richardson@house.ga.gov , (o) 404.656.5020, (fax) 404.656.5644,

    The bottom line is this- next Thursday we will know for sure that HR 1341
    has indeed passed.  This means we will get our study committee for
    Direct-Entry Midwifery.  Then on March 30, we will know if it will be funded
    (which is why you NEED to call Speaker Richardson and tell him you want it
    funded!)  This is also why we NEED you to show up on Thursday!  Imagine when
    Reps Benfield & Thomas introduce us from the House floor and all the Reps
    look up to see and there we are- all 200 + hootin & hollerin for Homebirth!
    That will be amazing!  Please come be a part of that moment!

    I hope I’ve given you all a better idea of what the morning will look like.
    If you are still full of questions, please feel free to contact me.  I am
    looking forward to seeing you all!

    Thanks so much!
    Jennifer Fargár, Homebirth mom
    GFOM Volunteer

 

2002:
We are working on House Resolution 227: Creating the Joint Study Committee on Certified Professional Midwifery. We have also just introduced House Bill 1550: a regulatory bill that will provide for state licensure of Certified Professional Midwives.


HR 128 (formerly HR 32)
HR 32 was originally submitted by Rep. Barbara Mobley and 23 co-sponsors during the 1999 Legislative Session. It unanimously passed the full House on Feb. 14, 2000, to go into effect on July 1. However, because the Speaker of the House never did appoint the Study Committee, Rep. Barbara Mobley submitted the bill again in the 2000 Legislative Session. Now designated as HR 128, the bill was sent to the Rules Committee where it will remain until Rules Committee Chair Representative Calvin Smyre and his Committee move to send it to the House for a vote. (If no action is taken, the bill will have to be introduced again for the 2003 Legislative Session, the beginning of the next 2-year legislative cycle.)

Community Meetings are being set up. If you are interested in hosting a meeting, please contact Susan.

In the Future
Once the Study Committee is set up, we will be actively involved in the meetings.

We will be planning fundraising opportunities for GFOM.

Events
GFOM Business Meetings are held in Atlanta. For directions and/or more information contact Debbie.

Milestones
February 14, 2000
HR 32 was passed unanimously in the House! The Study Committee will be formed and will meet after July 1, 2000.

January 15, 1999
A resolution was introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives to form a study committee about midwifery in Georgia.

January 3, 1999
Official Georgia Friends of Midwives website is launched

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Last updated: March 12, 2004.