A Doctor Comments on Midwives

In the Southeast Missourian, Dr. Eric G. Morton describes his concerns with the midwife legislation:

This bill is not about freedom. It is about looking at a small special-interest group that wants to practice medicine without a license or malpractice insurance.

Dr. Morton responds to midwives and their supporters who were quoted in the paper as saying that it’s hard to get to know doctors and that midwives are more caring. He assures readers that he is in fact quite caring; he calls women by their first names, shakes hands with them, etc. He writes:

I believe most physicians are compassionate and caring and provide an adequate birth experience. They get to know their patients on a personal level.

I’m sure he’s right that most physicians are just as caring as midwives. But that’s not the point of the midwife legislation. Women should be free to choose a midwife instead of a physician, even if any "objective" third party would consider the physician to be ten times as caring and knowledgable. The patient is the one who ultimately needs to be satisfied with the quality of her medical care, so she should make the decision.