A committee has sent a bill to the House floor that would decriminalize lay midwifery.

For nearly 50 years, lay midwives have been barred from legally practicing in Missouri. A similar measure is currently sitting before a Senate committee.

Proponents of the measure cast it as a women's rights issue, arguing women should be allowed to choose when and where they have their children.

However, critics, which, in the past have include the state Medical Association, say the bill would give lay midwives the same legal status as other medical professions like doctors and nurses without the proper certification. © Copyright 2012, KBIA