B.C. 'childbirth activist' charged with manslaughter after newborn's death

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 public notice from the midwife regulator.

Prior charges

Lemay has a long history of providing midwifery services despite not obtaining registration through the province, eventually prompting the college to obtain a "permanent court order" in February 2000 barring her from continuing the practice, the regulator said.

Two years later, Lemay was found guilty of criminal contempt for assisting in 10 home births – for which she charged a fee of $2,500 each – and was sentenced to five months in jail.

In 1985, Lemay and another woman were charged with criminal negligence causing death after a boy they were attempting to deliver in a Vancouver home died while still in the birth canal.

The pair were convicted in B.C. Supreme Court the following year, but the conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada, which ruled the fetus must be removed from its mother's body alive to be considered a person.

Court appearance

Lemay's website, which was still active on Tuesday, identifies her as a "birth attendant" and "midwifery educator."

Staff Sgt. Darrell Sandback said the investigation has been "very complex," involving the provincial Ministry of Children and Family Development, the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives and the coroners service.

"We have to consult medical professionals, lots of tests have to be done, and it just took a long time," Sandback told a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.

"It's very unusual," he added. "I'm not aware of any cases like this recently in in the province of British Columbia or in Canada. However, as you guys are aware, Ms. Lemay has been through this process before."

Investigators are now hoping to speak with anyone who has been present at a birth that was attended by Lemay, regardless of the outcome.

"We believe there has been other birth events she has been at and we'd absolutely like to talk to anybody, whether it's been good – something good that they've received – or something bad," Sandback said.

Lemay remains in police custody pending a court appearance on the manslaughter charge scheduled for Wednesday morning in Duncan.