The Baby Steps Association expresses deep disappointment over the fact that the proposal to include the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on the Rights, Obligations and Responsibilities of Patients in FBiH did not receive the required majority today in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of FBiH.

Although 48 representatives voted in favor, the proposal did not pass, and with that, an opportunity was missed to finally consider a law that would provide thousands of women with essential support during childbirth  the right to have a trusted person present.

With this outcome, women giving birth in the Federation of BiH are once again left without the minimum level of safety, dignity, and support they deserve.

Birthing women still remain without a legally guaranteed right to a birth companion, despite the fact that the medical profession, international recommendations, and the Guidelines of the Federal Ministry of Health clearly support the presence of a companion throughout the entire duration of labor.

That is why we ask a clear question:

-Who do the representatives answer to?
-To whom are they accountable for the decision not to even discuss such an important issue?

This is neither a medical nor a political issue. This is a matter of human rights, women’s safety, prevention of obstetric violence, equality of women in labor across the Federation, the fight against corruption, demographic survival, and European integration.

The right to a birth companion is not a privilege it is a basic measure of support and protection for women giving birth, one that almost the entire world has been applying for years.

Today’s missed opportunity and the wait for the next session — at least a month from now — means that 1,300 women who are about to give birth will still have to do so alone, without reason, without justification, and without binding rules.

The Baby Steps Association will publish the names of the representatives who voted against or abstained. We call on the public to demand an explanation — because representatives are elected to serve the citizens, not the other way around.

This is not the end — this is the beginning of an even stronger fight.

If the Parliament was not ready to take a step forward today, it must be tomorrow. Because women will not stop giving birth. Their fears will not disappear on their own. Nor will their need for support, safety, and dignity.

What did not pass today — we will demand again tomorrow. For as long as it takes until it is adopted.

We know this is the right thing to do. The citizens know it. The experts know it.

It is time for those who represent us — those we have elected — to open their eyes.