Last Updated on 6/18/2013

Published on 3/14/2013

Prince George Plantation Tours coming soon

The dogwoods are starting to bud, the azaleas are beginning to bloom and it looks like spring is finally going to arrive. With the heralding of spring comes another event announcing its arrival — The Annual Plantation Tours sponsored by the Episcopal Church Women of Prince George Winyah. This year will be our 66th year and will bring hundreds of visitors to Georgetown County on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23.

The plantation and townhome owners, as well as several local landmarks and museums, graciously help us make this happen each year. Without their generosity in opening their properties, this would not be possible. It's a wonderful way to share the beauty and heritage of Georgetown County.

Not only do we have the Tour, but we also have an art show and sale in the Parish Hall at 300 Highmarket Street that is open to the public without the purchase of a Tour ticket.

I know that it is hard to improve on Mother Nature, but with this in mind, we hope that our citizens will once again “spruce up” their yards and make them as lovely as they can be in advance of the Tours. We want to show these guests how inviting Georgetown is and perhaps lure them back another time for a longer stay.

It's a win-win for our church and the county as well. Let's show these people why we are proud to call Georgetown home.

Marie L. Taylor
2013 Tour Chairman
Georgetown


Home birth could become illegal

I am concerned about SC House Bill 3137, which is currently in the House of Representatives. This bill, if enacted as law, would strip me of freedoms I hold dear as an American, a woman, a mother, and a midwife. I am trying to raise awareness in order to protect those freedoms. Please help give me a bigger voice than I currently have.

Put yourself in my shoes. As an expectant mother, I have been informed that due to new laws, I am not permitted to choose where or with whom I deliver my baby.

If House Bill 3731 passes, this scenario will occur. Deceptively named, “The Lay Midwife Act”, HB3731 covertly makes home birth illegal in SC by requiring direct “supervision” by a doctor at every midwife-attended home birth.

Liability insurance and hospital policies make it virtually impossible for SC doctors to attend home births. This makes it illegal for nationally certified, highly-trained Certified Nurse Midwives and Certified Professional Midwives to attend home births, while placing women like me in a vulnerable position.

It strips me of my rights to choose where and with whom I have my child. It forces me into a system I would not have chosen and exposes me and my child to risks that occur with unnecessary medical interventions or new superbug infections.

Decades of research have shown that low risk births with a midwife are as safe as hospital births. Since only 0.50 percent of SC women elect home birth, why are law makers attempting to take this freedom from us? Safety is not the issue. Qualified professionals are and have been present to assist in our births.

Please help us keep this freedom by asking your District Representative to vote no to HB3731. Ask them to uphold freedom and women’s rights. Supporting HB3731 is a step back for women’s health care in SC.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Amanda C. Mase-Saint
West Union, SC

Opinions that appear on this page in Letters to the Editor or in columns do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.