Judge temporarily bars Mo. midwifes law

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A judge temporarily bars a law that would let lay midwives deliver babies in Missouri.

Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce has issued a temporary restraining order against the midwives law. She scheduled an Aug. 2 hearing to consider a preliminary injunction.

The midwives provision was secretly attached by a senator to a bill intended to make health insurance more affordable and accessible to some Missourians.

Several doctors groups sued. They claim the midwife language violates the Missouri Constitution by going beyond the bill's health insurance title and by changing the bill's original purpose.