Yvonne Cryns case update
4/16/01

The new trial date is Monday, May 14, 2001.

In early February, Yvonne Cryns' lawyers submitted a brief to Judge Booras which called for the dismissal of all charges against Yvonne. The core of the argument is the accusation of prosecutorial misconduct in the form of perjury in the grand jury trial. During the questioning of the sole witness, the detective who began the investigation, the prosecution cited written testimony by another midwife that Yvonne acted "recklessly" during the birth. In fact, this midwife never mentioned the word "reckless" in her written testimony.

Judge Booras accepted the brief into the court. He set a date of March 5th for the prosecution to respond. Yvonne will counter-respond on March 9th. The judge's final ruling on March 12 was to allow the case to go forward based on a cited case from Wisconsin from 1957 where a nurse killed her baby! The "logic" of this escapes us completely.

The prosecution, as usual, employs many weapons to try to get convictions. One way is to release information about their case to the press knowing that a good defense attorney will not allow his client to respond. This has the effect of sullying the potential jurors to the side of the prosecution.

Another more insidious but effective method is to present only "facts" to the grand jury which will guarantee that the trial be heard. In this case, evidence is being presented that the prosecution actually perjured themselves in their effort to win. It is widely known that a grand jury hearing is nearly always going to go for the prosecution.

No matter how much the prosecution cries that this case is not "political" their actions continue to show that it is, indeed, political in intent, an outright effort to eliminate home births in Illinois forever.

Jock Doubleday has a standing offer of $25,000 to anyone who can prove that hospital birth is safer than home birth.
http://www.gentlebirth.org/nwnm.org/Offer.htm 
To date there are no takers.

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Home Sweet Homebirth (Video)

Midwives have existed since the beginning of humanity. Why, then, is it so difficult to find a midwife in America?  What events occurred between the mid 1800's until the present day which nearly made midwifery extinct in America? And why are more families now looking into homebirth as a refuge from hospital care?
Home Sweet Homebirth provides the answers. Interviews with noted doctors, historians and midwives. Very interesting and informative video.