In 2024, Parker Terry opened up online about the devastating loss of his wife, Jordan, and baby Mack after a midwife-assisted home birth.
During the delivery in December 2023, Jordan suffered a major complication — a ruptured uterus — and lost a lot of blood. Jordan died at the hospital, and Mack was stillborn.
"I was raising awareness, I was speaking out and just sharing our story and just hoping that there was some education out there for moms that were wanting to do this to know what to look for," Terry said.
Terry's story prompted ABC15 to take a deeper look at midwives and out-of-hospital births in Arizona. We heard from multiple families with concerns about rules and oversight after they lost their babies in childbirth or had other bad outcomes.
Our reporting focused on the Arizona Department of Health Services, which licenses about 100 non-nurse midwives, also known as certified professional midwives.
Will Humble, a former ADHS director, said the agency had neglected oversight.
"For many years, the clock stopped, and the agency stopped paying attention to the practice of midwifery and how it's been changing," Humble said.
Now, state Rep. Selina Bliss, a Republican, has introduced two bills with input from the Arizona Community Birth Coalition, including certified professional midwife Wendi Cleckner.
"The midwives are protected; the families are protected; the Department of Health is protected. Everyone is protected just a little bit more because we have clarity over certain areas," Cleckner said.
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HB 2251 would allow non-nurse midwives to dispense additional medications, including antibiotics and drugs to stop hemorrhaging. A new midwife advisory committee would allow maternity care professionals to weigh in on ADHS licensing issues and scope of practice changes.
Another provision would require non-nurse midwives to submit annual summary reports to better capture details about deliveries, hospital transfer rates, deaths, and other birth outcomes, but they would no longer have to submit lengthy reports about each client.
While professional liability insurance is optional for ADHS-licensed midwives, they would be required to tell new clients whether they had coverage if the bill passes.
"The biggest one that's most impactful to me is the insurance one because that's been the kind of a battle on our end," Terry said.
Facing complaints relating to the quality of care in several births, Jordan's midwife surrendered her ADHS license in June 2024.
A second bill, HB 2252, would allow midwives to accompany their patients in the ambulance and continue providing care until they reach the hospital to receive a higher level of care.
"As of right now, there's kind of a power struggle, maybe, of who's in charge, and often EMS won't allow us in the rig to continue the care that we're giving," Cleckner said.
ABC15 previously aired a story with police bodycam video showing one case where a newborn with difficulty breathing at a birthing center needed to get to the hospital, but a dispute arose over the handoff. This bill seeks to make the transition smoother when seconds matter.
"It also removes an incentive for midwives to not call 911 because maybe the mom is saying, don't call 911 you won't be able to stay with me," Humble said.
Terry said his wife, Jordan, was a nurse and had wanted to become a midwife herself, which is one reason she chose a home birth. He hopes legislators will honor his wife's memory.
"I would like to be known as the Jordan & Mack Terry law," Terry said.
Because it's Jordan's story that led to these proposals for change.
"I know she's smiling down on everyone; I know she's smiling down on me," Terry said. "I could speak for both of us that [we are] just proud and grateful to see things happening, and it's pretty cool."
ADHS declined to comment on the pending legislation.
This story was reported on-air by a ABC15 Senior Investigator Melissa Blasius and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
