By Christine Herman/For CU-CitizenAccess.org — “Anne” and “Kate” are licensed home birth providers in Wisconsin but considered criminals in Illinois.
They say home birth would be safer in Illinois if the government licensed certified professional midwives like them by helping people distinguish between trained and untrained midwives and reducing the number of unassisted home births.
But opponents, who believe hospitals are the safest place for birth, say they will continue to oppose legislation for licensing them.
This story was part of Christine Herman’s journalism master’s project at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2014.
Visit http://homebirthillinois.com to see more of Herman’s project.