Greetings!   We hope that you will explore Journeying Beyond 's pages on Death Midwifery services, and 'end of life' (EOL) and Advance-care Plannng consultations, in Victoria, B.C.   All of the pages are listed on the left menu, as well as at the top and bottom of each page.   You can get more information about Death Midwifery and Home Funerals by visiting the CINDEA pages on The Pan-Death Movement, Death Midwifery, and the Post-death Care/Home Funerals.

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Journeying Beyond 's Death Midwifery services include 'end of life' consultations (comprehensive Advance Directives and Representation Agreements, as well as basic information on Power of Attorney/etc. documents), support for the Death Journeyer and their families throughout the pan-death process, funeral plans, funeral and/or memorial celebrant services, and initial grief counselling.  'Home funeral' services including an educational workshop — "By My Own Heart and Hands" (see dates below) — reviewing all of the practical elements of post-death care, necessary paperwork, and final disposition arrangements.

The term "pan-death" refers to the whole process, pre/during/post death — including education/information on post-death care at home and required documentation, which are often referred to as a "home funeral".    The acronym 'DWENA' implies any and all options for 'Deathcare — Wholistic, Ecological, and/or Natural Alternatives'.   Please check out our new By My Own Heart and Hand home funerals workshop page.

Journeying Beyond services include support to Death Journeyers and their families through an 'elective death' choice of MAiD (Medical Aid in Dying) or VSED (Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking).   We cannot provide medical support; but will provide basic or access information, and emotional and/or ceremonial support.

If you are interested in Journeying Beyond 's Death Midwifery & ACP/EOL planning services in Victoria, B.C.,
or wish more information about these and related services,
please contact Pashta via email or call 250-383-4065 (available by phone, email or Skype).

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Workshops and Other Events

"By My Own Heart and Hand" basics in home funerals
and Bedside Singing workshops

Please contact us for further information on either of the workshops.

Next workshop in Vancouver, November 16-17, 2019

What's in a Name?
Help make 'death midwife' a permitted term in Canada
Reclaiming the ancient dual role of a midwife - attending both births and deaths
GoFundMe campaign to raise the funds for the lawyer and court cost

Update: I won the court case, and the judge struck down the piece of legislation used against me (HPA 12.1 (1) as unconstitutional.
However, the ruling is now being appealed by the BC Attorney General — so more work and expenses.

The Problem
This dual role of midwives lasted till the early 20th century, when midwifery almost disappeared.   Then later in that century both parts of the dual role were revived separately.

After the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation aired a series of interviews on "DIY Funerals" in 2016, Pashta MaryMoon and other Canadian 'death midwives' received 'cease and desist' letters threatening legal action and forbidding use of the term 'death midwife' — in Pashta's case, coming from the College of Midwives of British Columbia (CMBC) and the Canadian Midwifery Regulatory Council (CMRC).

Most of the Canadian death midwives chose to comply, for personal or professional reasons.   Pashta decided that she couldn't in good faith obey this request. Now the CMBC is going to court to get an injunction to stop her from using the word "midwife" or any variation.   Though it seems unlikely to happen, the petition for the injunction also made a mention of the possibility of jail time.   Nevertheless, she felt a personal obligation to fight the injunction in court.

Although some of her work is for pay, a great deal of Pashta's time and energy goes into pro bono death-midwifery work, including education and running CINDEA.   She has found an enthusiastic lawyer who is willing to do the legal work for a reduced fee, however he is not able to do it for free.

The Nitty-Gritty Details (skip this part if you wish)
Historical evidence shows that for thousands of years, the role of a midwife — whether or not the word 'midwife' was used — included deathcare. In the late 19th and early 20th century, this dual role was split between the domain of obstetrics and the funeral industry.   Birth midwifery was revived in the mid-to-late 20th century, with death midwifery following about two decades later.

According to the letter of the law, in BC and most other provinces, the word 'midwife' itself is a reserved title to be used exclusively by birth midwives who are registered with their provincial college.   The legislation makes it clear that it was only intended to govern birth midwives; and there is no reference whatsoever in the law to death midwives, although this role and its name were beginning to be reclaimed before the legislation was passed.

The CMBC has claimed that the public might be confused between birth and death midwives, and could mistakenly assume that death midwives are 'professionals with membership in a regulatory body' (specifically the CMBC).   They were concerned that either of these perceptions would present a 'danger to the public safety' — however, they have since removed these claims from their petition, presumably because there is no evidence of either situation happening.

The obvious solution, used by many other health professionals, is to add a qualifier — such as 'registered', 'licensed' or 'certified' midwife — since the average person recognizes these qualifiers as ones that indicate the person is 'a professional within a regulatory body.'   This distinction would contribute to the public safety (in particular, pregnant mothers) more than the present reserved-title status could.

In the long run, the most important issue is not that practitioners be allowed to use the term "death midwife" for themselves, but that there is a recognizable term for the public to find alternative deathcare options.

Pashta's Appeal - Support the Right to Use the Term 'Death Midwife'
I'm seeking your help with my court challenge that will include two main requests:
1. Addressing the unreasonable limits made on the use of 'midwife', as being arbitrary and overly broad in scope.   My lawyer and I believe this is an issue of 'freedom of expression' as defined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — and yes, this is a Charter challenge.
2. An exemption to the Midwives Regulation which presently excludes the use of the term 'death midwives' — such as existing exemptions for systems engineers, who do not fall under the reserved title of "professional engineer". [Note: the College of Physicians and Surgeons were interveners in the case; but pointed out that they don't go after 'lawn doctors' or 'tree sugeons' (etc.) because they trust that the public is able to identify that these people are not offering medical services — something that the judge did take note of in her ruling.]
Your donations will help to pay the lawyer and other legal fees, as well as any associated travel costs.

GoFundMe campaign to raise the funds for the lawyer and court cost

see also the Death Midwifery page on CINDEA or Pashta's personal website Journeying Beyond

CSC radio and article series "DIY Funerals: Rite at home'
Two BC CINDEA practitioners, and other DWENA practitioners and family members, will be interviewed in a CBC series — the first article "Death midwives offer a 'more authentic' funeral experience"

Podcasts of the live interviews will be listed when available.

"Returning to a Natural Ending" Power Point presentations
These 2-hour presentations address Death Midwifery, home funerals, and green burial/disposition options.   They are available (by donation) for any group of any size in Victoria, or elsewhere on Vancouver Island (travel expenses required).    Please contact us if you are interested in considering a presentation for your group.   
Three-in-one sheet flyers available in PDF format.

Films from the Parlour — Documentaries and Discussion on Dying and Death — once a month in Victoria, B.C., starting again in September 2015 — contact us for film, date and location

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Articles, Podcasts, Webinars

Vital Conversations: Dialogues on Living and Dying webinar replay Dialogue with Kim Adams and Pashta MaryMoon from CINDEA on National Healthcare Decisions Day in the US and National Advance Care Planning Day in Canada — on What is the Pan Death Continuum and Why is it Important?    This YouTube version (a second interview) also had technical difficulties, but not as many of the original; and Kim and Pashta were able to have a much more in-depth conversation.   You can request notices on upcoming webinars through Vital Conversations: Dialogues on Living and Dying Well.

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News

See CINDEA's Media and Recent Canadian News for articles and news stories.

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Pashta MaryMoon, Death Midwife for Journeying Beyond, is also the director of CINDEA.
More information about pan-death care is available on that site, as well as seasonal updates on Canadian development
— contact CINDEA to sign up for the updates.  
Please visit (click on the name graphic below) for more information on Death Midwifery in Canada.

Pashta is also a member of the National Home Funeral Alliance — an extensive website addressing the Home Funeral movement in the U.S.A., although providing listings for alternative death-care practitioners both in the U.S.A. and other countries.

Our thanks to Skeena web services for hosting this site
We also acknowledge the use of GRsites programs and backgrounds.