Judge strikes down Missouri midwifery law

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A judge has struck down a new law that would have allowed certain lay midwives to deliver babies in Missouri without facing the threat of criminal charges.

A Cole County judge declared the midwifery language unconstitutional, saying it went beyond the title and original purpose of the health insurance bill to which it was secretly attached in the final weeks of the legislative session.

Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce issued a permanent injunction barring the midwifery law from taking effect as scheduled Aug. 28. She allowed the rest of the health insurance bill to stand.