This is an important victory for midwives and for access to abortion. From now on the profession will be able to perform abortions under the same working conditions as doctors. The new decree, published in the Official Journal on Wednesday 24 April, met with the approval of feminist associations.
An initial infantilizing decree provoked the ire of the profession
Long requested by the profession, the extension of the practice of instrumental abortion to midwives was granted last December, but under conditions that made its implementation almost impossible. In fact, this measure, intended to facilitate access to safe abortion, especially in medical deserts, had been conditioned on the mandatory presence of four doctors capable of intervening in the event of a complication (including a gynecologist-obstetrician, an anesthesiologist-resuscitator , and a doctor capable of intervening in case of“arterial embolization”severe uterine hemorrhage).
Conditions impossible to satisfy for many healthcare facilities. The Order of Midwives deplored a text that was too rigid and infantilising, noting that these same conditions were not “not required when doctors perform instrumental abortions or during childbirth, where the risk of bleeding is much higher”.
The government then promised to rewrite the decree. It’s done ; legislators have recognized that midwives justify well “adequate professional competence attested by the completion of theoretical-practical training on voluntary termination of pregnancy with the instrumental method and on the actions to be taken in case of complications related to voluntary termination of pregnancy”.
The Minister delegate for Health and Prevention, Frédéric Valletoux, welcomed the meeting “this great step forward for women’s freedom”.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
