Petition to Allow Private Midwives to be Eligible for Professional Indemnity Insurance or to Be Exempt from Being Required to Enroll in PI

There are very limited birthing options where I live so I would love to see more independent midwives in my local area.

I want safe birth choices available to me if I choose to have another baby, and I think all women should have options including home birth.

This is every woman's legitimate right.

Save this much needed choice of birthing for the women of Australia.

35 years ago when I had my first baby I was not given a choice. 5 babies (and episiotomies) later. ... I believe that I have a duty of care to my daughters and strongly encourage people to sign this petition so that my daughters and all women have the right to choose how, where & who will provide them with access to a birthing experience of their choice.

It is time for women to demand what they want without all the horror stories

Every woman should be able to choose the birth that best suits her, losing a homebirth option would be terrible

I've had two amazing home births with amazing private midwives, i dont want to have to birth in a hospital if I have enough baby!

Independent Midwives in the UK have fought the same for many years and won - I wish midwives in Oz all the very best of luck in overcoming this. Women deserve the choice!

Many of these homebirths will happen regardless of the midwife situation next year. If you really want to make birth safer, stop driving away our midwives.

I believe in women's choice and think it's appalling that the government has allowed this to happen.

We all deserve the choice

Private Midwives attending homebirths allows low risk woman an alternative to hospital births and alleviates some of the demand on hospitals. It also provides continuous care which helps with positive birth outcomes. We have many skilled homebirth midwives and it would be a shame for women to no longer be able to access these services

Home births are an important birthing choice and option for women. I am from the Netherlands and it is the norm there

Private midwifery requires government support and regulation, not outlawing. No good will come of the latter

Six years since 2000 of us gathered in Canberra in protest we are still dealing with this issue! Women are having to question if they would birth at home without a midwife or are putting off getting pregnant altogether. We need a solution now!!!

Women are entitled to choice in their birth experiences. We should have access to homebirth with a Registered Practitioner like many other 1st World Countries that respect the decision making capabilities of the individual.

Woman have the right to choose where they want to give birth. This should NOT be taken away from them !!!!

Private midwives are so wonderful they wouldnt put any mother or baby at risk they do an amazing Job and if they are capable of giving a mum a birthing experience they want they should be able to do that !!!

Even if this doesn't apply to me right now, i am pro choice. most especially with how you birth your child!..