All Done and Off to the Governor's Desk!

Virginia Licensed Midwives (left to right) Marinda Shindler, Kim Pekin, and Lori Orme.

At last, our work in Richmond for HB1511 and SB1275 is complete! Today, the Virginia House of Delegates unanimously passed SB1275. Both bills have now passed both chambers and are on their way to Governor Glenn Youngkin for his signature!

We are grateful for the work of the midwives, clients, and midwifery supporters who made this possible. Our lobbyist, Becky Bowers-Lanier, was an amazing resource for us as we navigated how to pass a bill in Virginia. There was a lot more to it than we first thought! Her wise counsel and calmness, while we worried and waited, were so helpful to us.

We are also grateful to our bill patrons for their unwavering support. Delegate Dawn Adams, our patron for HB1511, showed her leadership in the Virginia House of Delegates, and her dedication to the health of women in Virginia was evident, and we have such immense gratitude to her for advocacy on our behalf. Senator Siobhan Dunnavant, our patron for SB1275 showed her commitment to evidence-based best practices for maternity care for Virginia families regardless of where they choose to give birth. Senator Dunnavant's recommendations, as an OBGYN, were critically important to our bills' unanimous passage.

The bills will now go to Governor Youngkin for signature and will become law on July 1, 2023. Once that happens, the Midwifery Advisory Board will work with the Virginia Board of Medicine to promulgate regulations related to the new law.

Virginia midwives have come far in the 17 years since our initial licensure bill was passed. Our law in Virginia is, in our opinion, the best midwifery law in the United States. Our licensure law allows us to legally practice autonomously and with evidence-based informed consent, but it prohibited us from using the medications that make community birth safer. With the removal of the prohibition against the use of medications within our scope of practice, our law is a model for other states.

Thank you to everyone who supported us! We're now celebrating and taking a well-deserved break! Cheers!