Belly Tales

In a bold (and rather disgusting) political move, Governor Pataki decided to veto the Emergency Contraception (EC) bill which had been passed by both houses of the NY State Assembly in a truly remarkable bipartisan effort. The announcement of the veto had already been made by the time I arrived at the EC rally this evening, which was happening right outside Governor Pataki’s NYC office, and this may have been a blessing in disguise, by rally standards. It’s hard to rally around something that’s going your way. The veto let the rally leaders really cut loose, denouncing Pataki and protesting such a blatantly political move. Governor Pataki ran on a Pro-Choice ticket, and has always been very supportive when it comes to women’s rights. Why the sudden change, Governor? Could it have anything to do with your recent announcement that you won’t seek another term as governor, presumably because you might have presidential aspirations?

This veto is a slap in the face, not just to both houses of the Assembly, who passed the bill by a very wide margin, but to every woman in NY State. Now, because emergency contraception will continue to be available only through prescription, which requires an appointment with a doctor/midwife/NP, it will remain very difficult to obtain within the 72 hour deadline, especially on weekends when clinics are closed. Now, thanks to this veto, a lot of women will be faced with two very unsavory choices: have an unwanted pregnancy, or have an abortion. When will people get it through their thick skulls that contraception PREVENTS abortion, rather than encourages it??

There were probably about 100 people at the rally, with several phenomenal speakers, including Ronnie Lichtman, the Director of the SUNY Downstate Midwifery program. The message at the rally was: “we will not give up, we will keep fighting!” And of course we will, because this legislation deserves to be law, and women deserve to have emergency contraception available and easy to obtain, 24/7. The FDA is going to issue a ruling on the safety of EC on September 1st, deciding whether it’s safe be sold over the counter or not. And as for getting this bill signed into law in NYS….I guess there’s always next year. I must admit, I left the rally feeling simultaneously encouraged, discouraged, frustrated, angry and inspired: a very strange mix, indeed.

Just to give all of you in the NYC a heads up: there is going to be a NARAL rally this Thursday in front of Governor Pataki’s NYC office to show support for the Emergency Contraception bill which was passed by the legislature back in June. You might recall my gleefull hoots of excitement when I first found out the bill had passed. This bill gives pharmacists and nurses the right to dispense the Morning After Pill to any woman in NY State who asks for it through the use of blanket prescriptions written by a doctor or midwife (yay!) or NP, thereby making it much easier to obtain and use within the 72 hour deadline necessary for this form of contraception to work. Now, all that’s left is for Governor Pataki to sign this bill into Law, and we’re set! So, come show your support, if you’re in the neighborhood, and hang out with other cool, like-minded, strong (and did I mention devilishly sexy?) supporters. All the details are below:

WHAT: EC Rally
DATE: Thursday, August 4
TIME: 5:00 pm
LOCATION: Across from 633 3rd Ave., between 40th & 41st Streets, opposite from Governor Pataki’s NYC Office.
FOR MORE INFO: Contact ewynbrandt@prochoiceny.org or 212-343-0114 ext. 21

Just a quick heads-up to let you know that BirthFocus.com and The Metropolitan Doula Group have been added as links under the following headings: Midwifery–> NY State Midwifery Links, Education–>Birth Education and Labor and Birth–>Birth Support.

BirthFocus, like Realbirth, offers several different childbirth preparation classes for pregnant women in NYC, as well as referrals for doulas and continuing education classes for birth professionals. The Metropolitan Doula Group is an umbrella group for NYC-based doulas, offering a supportive and educational forum for doulas and other birth professionals through monthly meetings and online discussion boards. Both of these are fantastic resources, especially if you live in NYC. Check them out!

A friend loaned me a copy of The Arkansas Midwives’ Book of Choices, which is an absolutely beautiful creation. Basically, it’s an informative guide for women in Arkansas, gently educating them about midwifery and the options that midwifery provides. It starts with an overview of what a woman’s birth options are, then segues into who and what midwives are and how the Midwifery Model of Care differs from the obstetric model. The best part of the book, however, is the directory: not only does it list every practicing and available midwife in Arkansas (along with all of the requisite contact information), but each midwife is profiled with a gorgeous photo of her and a short synopsis of her views on birth, labor, pain, midwifery, etc. etc. The creators of this book went around and interviewed each and every one of these midwives, and the photographer was careful to capture their essence in each of their pictures. The photographs, in fact, are gorgeous, and the overall presentation just stunning. What a brilliant idea! When can we put something like this together for New York??

Anyway, several of the birth stories in here moved me to tears (no joke! …although I am probably predisposed to get weepy about this sort of thing). I thought I’d just share a few of the inspiring quotes from all of the midwives, for all the rest of you out there who tend to get weepy about these things too:

“I have a saying taped to my file cabinet that says, ‘Each new life I am a part of brings new meaning to my own.’ The more births I attend, the more that saying means to me. It seems nearly all of life is bound up in the act of giving birth: pain, joy, fear, patience, relief, commitment, power, helplessness, impatience, weakness and strength. I feel privileged to be able to be a part of life, not just the miracle of birth, but the lives of people, their families, history itself.” —Janessa Easley

On Power: “Birth changes the paradigm of power. We tend to associate power with ‘control.’ But in birth it is the ’surrender’ that gives us the power.” —Ida Darragh

On Pain: “Pain is part of the birthing process. you can never experience real triumph if you do not have to do something to get to that point.” —Charlene Raley

On Pregnancy: “Pregnancy involves a woman’s whole life, not just her uterus.” —Jennifer Creel

On Birth: “There is a saying among midwives: birth is as safe as life gets. How do we know birth will be safe? We don’t. What we do know is that birth is a natural function of the female body,a nd that it works best without artificial intervention in the natural process.” —Barbara Muller