THE PLOWBOY INTERVIEW

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PLOWBOY: But as you've pointed out, resistance to home birth is increasing, too. What is the Alternative Birth Crisis Coalition doing about that?

TOMPSON: The ABCC is trying to protect the rights of parents to choose where they'll have their babies and who will share the experience, and to protect the midwives and physicians who attend such deliveries. But because the offensive against home birth had begun before the coalition was formed, we've been forced to start out by simply reacting to the steps the medical establishment is taking against the people we represent.

We're doing this by helping both attendants and parents who've been harassed or brought to court. We review medical records, provide expert witnesses to testify at trials, and give people advice and help in raising funds for their defense . . . along with suggestions for publicizing their efforts.

But we really intend to go far beyond this. Right now, you see, prosecuted practitioners end up spending thousands and thousands of dollars and then — if they're lucky — are finally allowed to do what they were doing in the beginning. It's an enormous strain for such people just to get back to square one . . . and even then, establishment doctors and authorities can start shooting at them again, because the powers that be have got the home birthers jumping through their hoops.

We've got to turn the tables and make repressive medical professionals jump through our hoops. To that end, we want to set up consumer review committees to collect statistics on the delivery problems that occur in hospitals and to publicize instances where home births are being prosecuted. We'd like to inform the public by creating materials and information packets, and perhaps by setting up a system similar to La Leche's concept of assembling small groups to talk about breastfeeding. Such meetings could provide opportunities to talk about the problems of choosing a good birth attendant . . . to share information on preparing for delivery at home, at a birthing center, or in a hospital . . . and to discuss other aspects of the birth issue as well. They could help people — whether they plan to stay at home or go to a hospital — face the experience forewarned and forearmed.

PLOWBOY: Then do you feel that your fight should really concern people who aren't pregnant or even planning to have children?

TOMPSON: The real issue here is not home birth . . . it's freedom of choice. If you believe people have the right to choose in their own best interests, you should be part of this struggle.

Anyone interested in helping out in this fight can get in touch with his or her local home birth practitioners or the ABCC to find out what specific aid is needed. One individual can have quite an effect by becoming informed about birth practices and passing the information informally to others. That spread of ideas can help develop a large enough power base to effect legislative changes . . . and such work has to be done at the state level because each state has different laws concerning birth attendants.

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