B.C. ‘childbirth activist’ charged with manslaughter after newborn’s death [Video]

A British Columbia woman who was under investigation for offering unauthorized midwifery services is now charged with manslaughter following the death of a newborn baby early last year.

Mounties on Vancouver Island arrested 77-year-old Gloria Lemay on Tuesday, more than a year after an unresponsive baby was delivered at a private home in the community of Ladysmith, according to a statement from the Ladysmith RCMP.

“Investigators believe Ms. Lemay’s involvement in the birth process led to the child’s injuries and eventual death,” the RCMP statement said.

The child was delivered on Dec. 27, 2023, and died in palliative care more than a week later on Jan. 6, 2024, despite life-saving efforts from paramedics and doctors, according to police.

Later that month, investigators with the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives and the RCMP searched Lemay’s home in Duncan in relation to “her ongoing unauthorized practice of midwifery,” according to a …