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Committee approves bill to regulate freestanding birthing centers after sponsors address liability and transfer concerns
Summary
A bill to license freestanding birthing centers advanced from the Senate Health Services Committee after the sponsor said earlier concerns about professional liability insurance, transfer agreements and medical-director qualifications were addressed; committee vote reported 10-1.
FRANKFORT — The Senate Standing Committee on Health Services on Monday gave a favorable recommendation to legislation creating a framework for freestanding birthing centers after the bill sponsor said recent revisions addressed safety and professional standards.
Senator Shelley Funke Froemeyer, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure has evolved over several years and that revisions resolved earlier concerns about professional liability insurance, transfer agreements with hospitals and ambulance services, and the qualifications required of a medical director. "Those have been adequately addressed for me," she said, and described the bill as making freestanding centers "much safer."
Committee members asked questions and several expressed support. Senator Berg, who said she once would have preferred hospital delivery, explained her support on grounds of patient choice: "It is a patient's right to decide where and how they want to deliver their children." Another member said the bill provides expanded options for pregnant women while including safety measures.
During floor-like proceedings, committee members moved and seconded the measure. The clerk called the roll; the chair announced the result as 10 yes, 1 no, and the bill was recorded as passed with a favorable expression. One senator who earlier indicated reservations explained they were voting in favor because "so much hard work has gone into it."
The sponsor was advised to review a fiscal note the governor's office submitted the morning of the hearing; she said she would follow up. Committee staff will prepare the committee report and transmit the bill to the full Senate calendar for further consideration.
