c. 2008 Religion News Service

Midwife to Amish wins court appeal

HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS) A Pennsylvania appeals court has said a state board was wrong to fine and shut down the practice of a Lancaster-area midwife who has delivered thousands for babies for the Amish.

But it is unclear whether it’s illegal for Diane Goslin and other “lay midwives” to deliver babies, even with the May 23 decision by a panel of judges on the Commonwealth Court.

The court concluded Goslin didn’t receive due process in facing charges of practicing midwifery without a license. The state Board of Medicine brought charges against Goslin last year and eventually fined her $11,000 and ordered her to stop working as a midwife. Goslin appealed.

Goslin, 50, said that she interprets the decision as clearing her to resume guiding women through childbirth.

“I feel we’ve been told that I can continue to attend women and childbirth. I feel this is a victory for women throughout the commonwealth,” she said.

The decision doesn’t address the question of whether what Goslin did is legal, said Gerald Smith, a senior lawyer for the Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees the medical board.

He said he’ll have to study it further before advising the medical board on whether it has legal authority to regulate midwives such as Goslin.

The case resulted in several rallies in which hundreds of Amish men, women and children came to Harrisburg to support Goslin.

Supporters argue that deliveries performed by lay midwives are more natural, safe, and more in keeping with their culture. The supporters, which include some non-Amish, abhor the use of drugs and medical technology that are present during hospital births, and they believe births should occur at home.

Pennsylvania requires nurse midwives to have state licenses. Goslin is certified by the North American Registry of Midwives, which isn’t recognized in Pennsylvania.

Smith said the state’s goal is “to make sure the people who are providing health care to our citizens are competent to do so.”

The case against Goslin followed the 2005 death of an Amish infant 21 hours after birth. The Lancaster County coroner concluded the baby died of causes that weren’t Goslin’s fault.

_ David Wenner

Collins to leave NIH post

WASHINGTON (RNS) Dr. Francis Collins, who helped decode human DNA and build bridges between scientists and religious believers, will resign as director of the National Human Genome Research Institute on August 1.

An evangelical Christian, Collins has headed the institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, since 1993. He said Wednesday (May 28) that he will take time off “to write, to reflect, to spend some time trying to identify the next opportunity for service.”

Collins, 58, accomplished much in the field of genetic research, from mapping human DNA, which he called “the book of human life,” to identifying genetic risk factors for diabetes and other diseases.

Collins’ best-selling 2006 book “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief,” was credited with forging common ground between evangelical Christians and scientists.

“Certainly in this science-and-faith discussion, we’ve had an awful lot of people talking past each other,” Collins told RNS in 2006. “It’s a tragic situation.”

_ Daniel Burke

Few churchgoers tithe, study says

(RNS) Linda Pateo of Gardendale, Ala., says she and her husband, Robert, try to give 5 percent of their income to their church and 5 percent to Christian charities, but it’s difficult with three children in college.

“I have strong feelings that God expects first fruits,” Pateo said. “Sometimes we fall short. It’s something we are all called to do.”

A recent poll by pollster George Barna shows that only 5 percent of Americans say they tithe, or give at least 10 percent of their income to religious congregations and charitable groups.

According to other studies on church giving, congregants give an average of 2.58 percent of their income to their churches. That’s down from 3.11 percent of their income in 1968, according to studies published by Empty Tomb, a ministry that studies church finances.

“Tithing is in decline,” said the Rev. William Hull, a research professor at Samford University and a Baptist minister. “The older generation was taught to tithe. It’s not being taught very much any more.”

Decades ago, the church was a focal point of philanthropy. Now parachurch ministries, schools and charitable agencies compete for those dollars, he said.

“The church has been losing market share,” said Sylvia Ronsvalle, executive vice president of Empty Tomb. “That concerns us. There could be a crisis in the very heart of the church.”

Many major mainline denominations are suffering budget shortfalls. “The churches don’t get enough money to send on to headquarters,” Hull said.

Donors and local churches may also reduce the amount of money they forward to denominational headquarters because of disputes over national church policies on divisive issues, such as homosexuality. “In many cases it’s a boycott,” Hull said.

Pateo recalled how tight finances were when her children were in day care and her salary barely covered the costs. But she believes it’s a religious duty to tithe to her church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

“It’s not easy,” she said. “But other blessings come to you if you are faithful.”

_ Greg Garrison

Quote of the Day: World Council of Churches General Secretary Samuel Kobia

(RNS) “There is a biblical promise in the book of Isaiah that people shall not `learn war’ any more …. The banning of cluster bombs would be an excellent example of unlearning one type of warfare in our day.”

_ The Rev. Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, responding to a draft treaty agreed upon Wednesday (May 28) by more than 110 governments (excluding the United States) that would ban cluster munitions.

KRE/CM END RNS