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B.C. expanding scope of practice for midwives

On Thursday, Health Minister Josie Osborne announced that B.C. will expand midwife scope of practice, authorizing them to prescribe mifepristone, the abortion pill, for first-trimester medical abortions.
This move makes B.C. one of just three jurisdictions in Canada to allow midwives to provide medical abortions early in pregnancy, expanding continuous care for nearly one-in-three births.
Nearly 500 midwives, with 80 to 95 working in rural communities, gain authority to prescribe medications for hypothyroidism and lactation suppression, and to perform early-stage ultrasounds.
The provincial government is collaborating with the College on regulatory changes required to implement the expanded authorities, though Osborne did not provide a firm implementation timeline.
Osborne emphasized the importance of this shift, contrasting B.C.'s efforts to expand reproductive autonomy with the ongoing "gutting of reproductive rights" occurring in the United States.

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B.C. expanding scope of practice for midwives - Vanderhoof Omineca Express

B.C. is expanding the scope of practice for midwives in several ways, including prescribing the abortion pill to provide a safe, medical abortion in the first trimester. This makes B.C. one of just three jurisdictions in Canada to allow midwives to provide access to medical abortions early in pregnancy. Health Minister Josie Osborne announced the new changes on Thursday (May 7), two days after International Midwives Day. The changes will allow t…

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