The Nation - News from Feb. 23, 1986

Midwives opened a makeshift clinic in Gloucester, Mass., for newly pregnant women who have been turned away by obstetricians participating in a work slowdown in the state to protest escalating malpractice insurance rates. The free clinic was opened to fill the void created by the growing number of the state’s obstetricians who are refusing new patients in a protest against the state-mandated, retroactive hikes in malpractice rates reaching up to $50,000 April 30. Physicians warned women against using the clinic, claiming the midwives could unintentionally “cause tremendous harm.”