Yesterday I spent some quality time watching CPAC on C-Span. So many of the speeches were inspiring, but my favorite was Marco Rubio. Enjoy!
Here is the link to the CPAC web site
Kym Kani Provided almost all of the source materials for this article!
Kym Kani gave birth to her fourth child at home unassisted. Her husband wrote up a birth story on her blog, and she also documented what happened during her pregnancy and birth. He was born perfectly after a two hour labor. This youngest son was born at home medically unassisted on September 21st (2008).
Kym and her husband and this youngest son, (11 months old) travelled to Canberra from Melbourne by car in September (7th) of last year (2009).
Kym felt motivated to go protest Medical Tyranny, she said:
“This was my first protest of any kind and this is an issue that I think is of utmost importance. I think the way we enter this world can affect us as a society. I had three babies in hospital and it wasn’t where I needed to be in labour. I don’t remember enjoying much of my older children being newborns and infants. With my youngest, I had a gentle undisturbed labour and amazing birth, I was able to enjoy and relax in those first hours and have a most welcomed babymoon in the first week (even though we were moving house!).”
In describing her Freebirth Kym said:
“The first year was a real joy. I was the first to touch our baby, which was very important to me. My husband was very much involved in the birth (filling the pool and taking photos, then changing J’s nappies for the first 24 hours, being the second person to touch OUR son, no strangers and this is the way I need to bring our children into the world, nothing like what happened in my hospital births) but I birthed him as I did my older children, but this time without interference.”
Kym summed up the changes that have taken place in her heart this way:
“I bonded very well to my little boy and it has really changed the way I look at myself as a parent and as a person.”
Kym has never protested anything before, yet in the past few months she has attended three protests and plans to attend a fourth next week.
“In Canberra, we protested peacefully outside Parliament House. We were mostly ignored by the media and the Government. There were women and their families, men and children as well as midwives. It was a huge crowd.
Next we protested outside Julia Gillard’s office in Werribee (Melbourne). We crowded the footpath and again I felt we were mostly ignored. Most recently we rallied outside the AMA offices in Parkville where there was a fair crowd.
All have been largely ignored peaceful protests with powerful voices (consumer and midwives) and songs bringing us the messages we want everyone to understand. “Dr Andrew Pesce cites his greatest AMA achievement as successfully lobbying Health Minister Nicola Roxon to make amendments to home birth legislation. I feel this translates as a direct attack on a basic human right.”
In a Letter to the editor titled An Attack on Womens Rights:
The author states:
“I AM a university-educated, professional woman who recently exercised her right to give birth at home. I had highly experienced, caring, trained midwives. I had the full energy and full attention of my team. I cannot remember having to ”jostle” for anything or anyone. I never had to wait in a ”chaotic” waiting room.
Dr Andrew Pesce cites his greatest AMA achievement as successfully lobbying Health Minister Nicola Roxon to make amendments to home birth legislation. I feel this translates as a direct attack on a basic human right. Not only have we seen our rights infringed, but we have lost our faith in the power of the human body.”
The Courier Mail Newspaper has been quoting the bogus homebirth study as if it was scripture:
Homebirth ‘more risky’ than hospital delivery
Yet Homebirth groups have not been shy about pushing back against the study:
“The overhaul has outraged homebirth groups, which say the practice will be forced underground, a concern that was also highlighted in a recent Senate inquiry.
The Australian Private Midwives Association and Homebirths Australia also dispute the latest study, saying the findings are hazy, and insist homebirthing is safe.
Association president Liz Wilkes says only one of the homebirth deaths was attributed to factors that were unlikely to have happened in hospital.
“Many of the homebirth deaths occurred in hospital, but we don’t know what was actually attributed to the death so the findings are still out,” she said.
She says the proposed laws won’t stop women from wanting to have a homebirth.
“So they will put women in quite a dramatically unsafe situation because they won’t be able to find a registered midwife to attend them.”
She says doctors are also unlikely to support the practice because of their own insurance concerns.
Homebirth Australia secretary Justine Caines, who has had seven successful homebirths, agrees and said the planned changes are a major erosion of women’s rights.
“Birth is very personal and a decision each woman should have the right to make” she said.
“So the AMA’s responsibility should be to make the practice of homebirth as safe as possible whether they like it or not.”
Less than one per cent of births registered each year in Australia are homebirths.”
Journalist Melissa Sweet took the time to crunch the numbers and reported these facts to the curious:
“If you’ve been half awake in recent days, you might have heard of a new study showing that “babies are seven times more likely to die during home births”.
It’s worth having a close look at what the study actually found (the full article is available here in the Medical Journal of Australia), and also considering some of the broader context that has been sadly lacking from most of the coverage I’ve seen and heard.
Please bear with me — I’m about to hit you with a stack of figures — but it is worth taking the time to examine them in some depth. You may end up with a different impression from what the headlines have been saying.”
Meanwhile, it seems more pertinent than ever to borrow the final words of the study’s authors:
“Although it is not anticipated that large numbers of women will opt for home birth, women’s autonomy in choosing reproductive behaviour is a fundamental human right enshrined in Australian law. Respecting their choices and achieving the best outcome for all concerned is likely to remain a challenge that will require more light and less heat than it has received thus far.”
What we’ve learnt in recent days is that we can’t rely on the media — or medical organisations — to contribute much light to this debate.”
Finally, Kym Reports:
“At the Parkville rally, I was given a breakdown of what the study found. It was only a small number of women involved in the study, it was of planned homebirths and only one baby died at home and it was known as a possibilty as she was considered high risk (baby could have died at hospital too).
If anything, it shows homebirth is much safer and even ideal especially for healthy women and babies. I want freebirth to be a choice. Many women don’t want to birth on their own but rather that than birth in hospital.”
If you would like to stand publicly with the Mothers of Australia, our sisters down under would appreciate some support at the upcoming Protest scheduled this week. Here is an overview of the many Protests that have been planned for this thursday February 18th, 2010.
MY BODY MY BABY MY RIGHT TO DECIDE
*Come and tell Tanya Plibersek (Kevin Rudd), that it is a woman’s right, not his, to decide where, with whom, and how she gives birth.
Here is a list of all of the various protests:
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
9:45am – 11:00am
|
| Location: |
We are planning to meet at Civic Park before 9:45am and walk down to Sharon Grierson’s office which is located at 427 Hunter Street Newcastle NSW 2300
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:00am – 11:00am
|
| Location: |
Unit A, Ground Floor, Law Society Building 11 London Circuit Canberra ACT 2601
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:00am – 11:00am
|
| Location: |
161a Main North Road NAILSWORTH SA 5083
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:00am – 11:00am
|
| Location: |
91 Mann St GOSFORD
|
* Ballarat MY BODY MY BABY MY RIGHT TO DECIDE
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:00am – 12:00pm
|
| Location: |
Kevin Rudd will be in Ballarat on THURSDAY 18 FEB, in the morning and need people to be in Ballarat by 10am. VENUE to be confirmed soon, everyone will be messaged through facebook with a location ASAP
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:30am – 11:30am
|
| Location: |
Outside Senator Trish Crossin’s office 25 Chung Wah Terrace Palmerston NT 0830
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:30am – 11:30am
|
| Location: |
Macdonnells Building 102 Grafton Street Cairns Qld 4870
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:30am – 11:30am
|
| Location: |
Outside the office of Melissa Parke 62 Wray Avenue Fremantle WA 6160
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:30am – 11:30am
|
| Location: |
Outside office of Kerry Rea Where: 69 Clara Street Wynnum Qld 4178
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:30am – 11:30am
|
| Location: |
Outside the office of Tanya Plibersek 111-117 Devonshire Street Surry Hills NSW 2010
|
If you are interested in learning more about Mothers working in Politics, read this book!
p. 128
“During our first week of conferencing with the oil executives, every man–and they were all men– who entered that room knew things had changed. I made a point of saying “We’re leaving the door open.” Their inches-thick proposals would be displayed out in the reception area for the public and the media to see.
Our approach to moving the gasline forward was both inovative and simple: Explain the importance of gasline development to ordinary Alaskans. And get them involved. That meant our war room became every kitchen table, town hall, classroom, and living room across the Last Frontier. We reached out. We asked citizens, “These are your resources, so what do you think?””
Internally, our natural gas mantra was “Greenies, Grannies, and Gunnies.”
Greenies: Natural gas is the cleanest nonrenewable fuel.
Grannies: Production of a domestic supply from Alaska would help those on fixed incomes, such as the elderly, by increasing supply and lowering costs in a more stable price environment.
Gunnies: Alaskas energy supplies would help lead America toward energy independence and greater national security.
Greenies, Grannies. Gunnies. So Alaskan, So Politically Incorrect.
Perfect.”
P. 133
“I also trimmed the state food budget by keeping our home’s freezer stocked with the wild seafood we caught ourselves, as well as organic protein sources hunted by friends and family. We kept an interesting variety of food that way. If any vegans came over for dinner, I could whip them up a salad, then explain my philosophy on being a carnivore: If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat?”
(*I was a vegan/vegetarian for many years and even I laughed out loud when I read that one…)
P. 293
“I was standing onstage when a campaign consultant whispered some last-minute advice on voice inflection. I hated to drop a bomb on her, but I’d been talking the same way for forty-four years and doubted our few moments alone would miraculously reform my style. Besides, I thought of all the money Tina Fey was making imitating me; I didn’t want to screw up her SNL thing by changing up on her midstream. I’m all about job security for the American Worker.”
“Dewey Whetsell a longtime commercial fisherman, veteran fire fighter and fire chief, jazz musician, and poet from Alaska penned a very nice retort to all of those who would say Sarah Palin isn’t the real deal, a true leader.
Those who follow Alaska politics know these stories well, but the rest of America should understand this as well.
You can check out Dewey Whetsell’s website here, the man has a very interesting life’s story.
Here is Dewey’s letter:
“The last 45 of my 66 years I’ve spent in a commercial fishing town in Alaska. I understand Alaska politics but never understood national politics well until this last year. Here’s the breaking point: Neither side of the Palin controversy gets It’s not about persona, style, rhetoric, its about doing things. Even Palin supporters never mention the things that I’m about to mention here.
1- Democrats forget when Palin was the Darling of the Democrats, because as soon as Palin took the Governors office away from a fellow Republican and tough SOB, Frank Murkowski, she tore into the Republicans Corrupt Bastards Club (CBC) and sent them packing. Many of them are now residing in State housing and wearing orange jump suits. The Democrats reacted by skipping around the yard, throwing confetti and singing la la la la (well, you know how they are). Name another governor in this country that has ever done anything similar. But while you’re thinking, I’ll continue.
2- Now with the CBC gone, there were fewer Alaskan politicians to protect the huge, giant oil companies here. So, she constructed and enacted a new system of splitting the oil profits called ACES. Exxon (the biggest corporation in the world) protested and Sarah told them don’t let the door hit you in the stern on your way out. They stayed, and Alaska residents went from being merely wealthy to being filthy rich. Of course the other huge international oil companies meekly fell in line. Again, give me the name of any other governor in the country that has done anything similar.
3- The other thing she did when she walked into the governors office is she got the list of State requests for federal funding for projects, known as pork. She went through the list, took 85% of them and placed them in the when-hell-freezes-over stack. She let locals know that if we need something built, well pay for it ourselves. Maybe she figured she could use the money she got from selling the previous governors jet because it was extravagant. Maybe she could use the money she saved by dismissing the governor’s cook (remarking that she could cook for her own family), giving back the State vehicle issued to her, maintaining that she already had a car, and dismissing her State provided security force (never mentioning, I imagine, that she’s packing heat herself). I’m still waiting to hear the names of those other governors.
4- Now, even with her much-ridiculed gosh and golly mannerism, she also managed to put together a totally new approach to getting a natural gas pipeline built which will be the biggest private construction project in the history of North America. No one else could do it although they tried. If that doesn’t impress you, then you’re trying too hard to be unimpressed while watching her do things like this while baking up a batch of brownies with her other hand.
5- For 30 years, Exxon held a lease to do exploratory drilling at a place called Point Thompson. They made excuses the entire time why they couldn’t start drilling. In truth they were holding it like an investment. No governor for 30 years could make them get started. This summer, she told them she was revoking their lease and kicking them out. They protested and threatened court action. She shrugged and reminded them that she knew the way to the court house. Alaska won again.6- President Obama wants the nation to be on 25% renewable resources for electricity by 2025. Sarah went to the legislature and submitted her plan for Alaska to be at 50% renewables by 2025. We are already at 25%. I can give you more specifics about things done, as opposed to style and persona . Everybody wants to be cool, sound cool, look cool. But that’s just a cover-up. I’m still waiting to hear from liberals the names of other governors who can match what mine has done in two and a half years. I wont be holding my breath.
By the way, she was content to to return to AK after the national election and go to work, but the haters wouldn’t let her. Now these adolescent screechers are obviously not scuba divers. And no one ever told them what happens when you continually jab and pester a barracuda. Without warning, it will spin around and tear your face off. Shoulda known better.”
are promising to be well attended. In an effort to help support the families who are promoting them, here is the most recent email update from the Facebook Group:
“Dear all,
Only a few days away and the numbers are looking great. Keep spreading the word, it’s going to be a fantastic turn out.
Ideas for Banners have been brought up, so i’ve included a few ideas that i have come across in a few rallies. I’ve also been informed that it’s probably better NOT to use wood to hold banners up. Something such as flexible PVC piping would suit. If it bends, and it’s not hard, it’s probably ok to use!
Ideas:
“I give birth and i vote”
“Mother knows best, save birth choices!”
“My right to choose nature’s way”
“Birth is women’s business, not politicians business”
“My body, my baby, my human right”
Feel free to add your ideas to the discussion board, and also please remember this rally is not just about home birth, but about choices for ALL women. The amendments to the legislation WILL impact more women.
Finally, remember to wear the traditional women’s colours of Purple, Green and White. We will have balloons to match, and feel free to bring your own balloons to add to the colour! Let’s show Australia that women’s rights matter!
Kelly”
If you are in Australia and can take a few minutes to help support these families right to decide where they will give birth, please stand in solidarity with them!
Here is a list of all of the various protests:
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
9:45am – 11:00am
|
| Location: |
We are planning to meet at Civic Park before 9:45am and walk down to Sharon Grierson’s office which is located at 427 Hunter Street Newcastle NSW 2300
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:00am – 11:00am
|
| Location: |
Unit A, Ground Floor, Law Society Building 11 London Circuit Canberra ACT 2601
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:00am – 11:00am
|
| Location: |
161a Main North Road NAILSWORTH SA 5083
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:00am – 11:00am
|
| Location: |
91 Mann St GOSFORD
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:00am – 12:00pm
|
| Location: |
Kevin Rudd will be in Ballarat on THURSDAY 18 FEB, in the morning and need people to be in Ballarat by 10am. VENUE to be confirmed soon, everyone will be messaged through facebook with a location ASAP
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:30am – 11:30am
|
| Location: |
Outside Senator Trish Crossin’s office 25 Chung Wah Terrace Palmerston NT 0830
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:30am – 11:30am
|
| Location: |
Macdonnells Building 102 Grafton Street Cairns Qld 4870
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:30am – 11:30am
|
| Location: |
Outside the office of Melissa Parke 62 Wray Avenue Fremantle WA 6160
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:30am – 11:30am
|
| Location: |
Outside office of Kerry Rea Where: 69 Clara Street Wynnum Qld 4178
|
| Date: |
Thursday, February 18, 2010
|
| Time: |
10:30am – 11:30am
|
| Location: |
Outside the office of Tanya Plibersek 111-117 Devonshire Street Surry Hills NSW 2010
|
