b'Engineering the Victory of Health Freedom over Licensing7Ke 3rivaWe &erWioFaWion 3roSosalBY BYRON SCHLOMACH, PH.D.P erhapsthebiggestobstacleThe story of how midwifery largely toprovidingnaturalhealthbecame illegal, and how the mortality solutions to the general pub- rate of women giving birth increasedlicismedicallicensing.as a result, is often spun as a moral-There is already enough of an ob- ity tale of how patriarchal society stacle in overcoming skepticism ofstomped on women (most medical newandancientremedies,fromdoctors then being men); but the whichpeoplehavebenefitedbutreal issue was, and is, economic. thatdonotenjoythescientif- Newlylicensedmedicaldoctors, icmoniker,withoutalsohavinganxioustomaketheirfortunes, to overcome those laws that conferwielded licensing like the weapon it medicaldoctorswithGod-likeau- was intended to be.thoritytodeterminewhichmethodsLicensing is the most powerful, re-may or may not live. Licensing is anstrictive, and dangerous of labor regu-impediment to innovation and progresslations, other than outright prohibition, for which few remedies are ever offeredThe Evils of Licensing requiring government permission to sell otherthantheseeminglyimpossibleones services. It is nothing less than the task of repealing the law in a head-onMidwifery is an ancient and honorablegrant of monopoly powers to a small, and suicidal lobbying assault. professionwhereinwomenwhohaveundeserving body of men and women. One method has been to work aroundlearned the mysteries of childbirth attendSuch government permission is usually licensinglawsbyaccommodatingal- other women giving birth. Historically,only obtainable from a board consist-ternative health practitioners with safeyoung women would apprentice with ex- ing mostly of licensed participants in harbor laws. But, while these latter lawsperienced midwives, gaining experiencethe same occupation that they regulate, permit certain qualifying practitionersand insight to skillfully aid women inand they like to make the hoops they space sucient for them to practice, theychildbirth who might not otherwise de- reTuire potential members of their ex-do not actually roll back licensinganliver safely, helping to bring new humanclusive club dicult to Mump through. institution whose evils are evidentinlifenaturallyintotheWorld.Then,This helps to create artificial scarcity any way. Ultimately, though, licensingmodern medicine came on the scenethat pushes up the prices of medical must give way for the sake of health andearly in the last century, and in the nameservices and raises providers incomes. opportunity. Fortunately, this can beof safety, public health, and science, mid- Since the scope of practice for medical accomplished through a policy proposalwifery was largely driven to extinction indoctors is so broad and all-encompass-called private certification. the United States. How? With licensing. 1 ing, they have the ability to deny per-12 H EALTHF REEDOMN EWS /S UMMER2022NHF_Summer40-2_2022_Linda_08-09-2022.indd 12 8/10/22 11:10 AM'