AZ Association of Midwives
CLaRC - The AAM Committee for Legal and Regulatory Concerns
AAM's Committee for Legal and Regulatory Concerns (CLaRC) is comprised of several AZ licensed midwives. The purpose of this AAM committee is to address legal concerns for AAM midwives and to take actions to encourage improved midwifery regulatory climate in AZ.
The committee's current main focus and goals are:
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Persue legal avenues to improve AZ midwifery
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Assisting midwives experiencing enforcement actions in knowing their rights and responsibilites, and in obtaining legal counsel.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
CLaRC meets each Thursday morning from 9am-11am. Location varies.
If you would like to attend, please contact azassocationofmidwives@gmail.com.
Are you a midwife who has recieved an enforcement letter, inquiry or phone call from AzDHS? Stop! Read this first and know your legal rights and responsibilites. Click here for
5 Year Midwifery Rules Review
Midwifery rules are up for review early summer 2016 as part of the regular 5 year review with the Governor’s Regulatory Review Council (GRRC). We will not have this opportunity again for another 5 years!
Midwives: Please join us at 12pm Mondays beginning March 21 at the Burton Barr Library as we collectively review the current rules for needed changes.
Midwives and Midwifery Clients: You can submit requests for rules changes individually and these requests MUST be considered by the GRRC during the Five Year Rules Review Process. Click here for more information.
MEDIA
CLaRC UPDATES
Want to help?
There is work to be done! We are always looking for committee members and help. To find out how you can help, email us at azassociationofmidwives@gmail.com
Individual Midwives Legal Cases
March 2016 Update
The committee has continued to provide support to Midwives facing legal action. Several midwives cases have travelled through the Administrative Law Judge and are awaiting appeal at Superior Court. We expect most of the cases to be heard over the next 4-6 months.
ADHS Motion to Dismiss Declaratory Judgement
March 2016
The State of AZ filed a motion to dismiss based on their beliefs that they have not limited midwives scope of practice since HB 2247 passed in 2012, that they have unlimited ability to curtail the midwives scope of practice, and that midwifery clients constitutional rights are not affected by regulating midwives. We are currently waiting on the judge’s response to this motion.
LMAC Submits It Report to Director Cara Christ
November 2015
The Licensed Midwife Advisory Council (LMAC) submitted it's first report to Director Cara Christ. The committee, formed by ADHS to advise the Director on midwifery rules, consists of LMs, physicians, CNMs, and consumers. LMAC came to consensus to ask the director to redefine midwifery and allow for wellness care and continuity of care after a resolved complication. The full report is attached here.
Declaratory Judgement Filed
11/05/15
In a historic action and after years of unsuccessful attempts to gain the support and cooperation of the Arizona Department of Health Services, the midwives of the Arizona Association of Midwives filed this legal action in superior court against the state of Arizona demanding that AzDHS cease increasing regulatory burden on and persecution of the midwives of AZ. Stay updated on Facebook at Untie AZ Midwives Hands#untiemymidwifeshands
AAM filed a lawsuite against the Arizona Department of Health Services seeking to stop the illegal investigation into midwives charts that contain private health information, stop the aggressive enforcement of new rules that illegally reduced the midwives' scope of practice, relieve midwives of the increased administrative burden, and stop the enforcement of unconstitutional midwifery laws that violate the right to refuse vaginal exams, STI testing, and medical treatment. To read the lawsuit, click here.
08/31/15
Click here to see the report that AAM submitted to LMAC asking for change through AzDHS's sanctioned process.
The Administrative Procedures Act
08/11/2015
The Arizona Administrative Procedure Act known as the APA (A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6, Articles 1 through 10) is the rules and regulations that govern Arizona state administrative agencies such as AzDHS. Part of the APA allows anyone or any organization to submit a petition for a rule change or policy statement if they believe a government agency is not acting in the best interest of the people it serves. AAM has submitted 9 petitions to date, all of which have been ignored by AzDHS. Details on the petitions submittedcan be found below.
06/23/15
The Legal and Regulatory Committee recieved it's first response from the Arizona Department of Health Services to our Petitions under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).
Here is a summary of ADHS respose (you can click on the title to read the full letter). "ADHS does not believe that your Letter satisfies the requirements..." of the APA and "does not currently plan to initiate a rule making or make a rule in response to it....ADHS also believes that the current midwifery rules contain 'safeguard the health and safety of the mother and child.'"
The Committee couldn't disagree more. We firmly believe that many of the current AZ midwifery rules negatively affect the health and safety of midwifery clients and their babies and often place midwives in impossible medical ethical positions. We will continue to petition ADHS to bring AZ midwifery rules up to current standard of practice.
Request for Public Records
May 21, 2015
We are requesting public records as we are legally allowed per Arizona's Public Records Law A.R.S. Title 39. More coming soon.
The Rules Moratorium
January 5, 2015
The first Executive order Gov. Ducey wrote this year was the Rules Moratorium. Visit the link below and at the end of the summary is a link EO-2015-01 click on that to read the complete order .http://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/governor-doug-ducey-issues-moratorium-regulatory-rulemaking
In summary, this Executive Order tells us in order to open any agency rules we need to Governor’s approval AND all state agencies must submit an evaluation of their rules and recommendations for rules to amended or repealed no later than, September 1, 2015.
It also allows for the consideration of rules changes in the event that the existing rule negatively affects the health and safety of AZ citizens.
House Bill 2247 - 2012 Rules Rewrite
June 2012
In 2012 HB 2247 gave AzDHS exempt rulemaking authority allowing them to open midwifery rules for the purposes of expanding the scope of practice andreducing regulatroy burden on AZ midwives. Midwives came together frequently to create this report requesting updates to the midwifery rules (not all requested changes occured and the committee is now pursuing petitions under the APA to continue to ask for these health and safety updates.