Public Radio for the Piedmont and High Country
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Birthing Center Legislation Is Reintroduced In North Carolina House

Forsyth Rep. Donny Lambeth is co-sponsoring legislation requiring licenses for birthing centers in North Carolina. Lambeth was also a primary sponsor of a similar bill during the 2019-20 session. WFDD file photo by Paul Garber.

An effort to establish a licensing requirement for birthing centers is being re-visited in the North Carolina General Assembly. 

House Bill 39 would establish the North Carolina Birth Center Commission and set a fee schedule for the businesses in the state.

Licensing and inspections would fall under the purview of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The department would have the right to deny, suspend, or revoke the licenses of centers that fail to comply with state regulations.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports the bill is being co-sponsored by Forsyth Rep. Donny Lambeth and has the support of two other House Republicans.

There have been several unsuccessful attempts at moving similar legislation through the General Assembly.

Lawmakers took up the issue in 2019 after three infants died over a seven-month period at a birthing center in Cary.

The latest bill would limit licensed birthing centers to low-risk deliveries, and require transfer policies for more complicated procedures. No abortions would be allowed.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

Support quality journalism, like the story above,
with your gift right now.

Donate