The Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has decided not to consider the right to a birth companion under an expedited procedure, instead keeping the proposed amendments to the law at the draft stage. As a result, women giving birth have not only been left without legal certainty — the process has effectively been pushed backward before it truly even began. This move carries a simple political message: delay it so it never happens.

The debate that followed revealed a clear direction. Instead of discussing the rights of women giving birth and the standards of modern medicine, MPs from the medical profession focused almost exclusively on protecting the system and healthcare workers. They neither publicly presented nor confirmed the positions of their own profession, which has for years recommended the presence of a birth companion as a standard of good clinical practice. The rights of women in childbirth and the benefits of a companion were instead defended by MPs who are not healthcare professionals but who supported this right. Thus, in a discussion about patients’ rights, the focus was once again shifted to the interests of the system.

Childbirth cannot be postponed.

Political decisions — evidently — can.

For women who are currently awaiting childbirth, this decision means continued uncertainty. It means they will remain dependent on the discretion of individual hospitals, directors, or on-duty medical teams. It means that some women will give birth with the support of a trusted person, while others will be left alone, without any legal protection. It means that dignity in childbirth will remain a matter of chance, not a guaranteed right.

This is not a defeat for women giving birth.

This is a defeat for a Parliament that had the opportunity to immediately protect women and their families — and chose not to do so, opting instead for indefinite postponement.

The Baby Steps Association will continue to advocate for the right to a birth companion and to document the consequences of institutional inaction. The rights of women in childbirth are not a political issue. They are a matter of basic human dignity.

A delay is a decision. And this delay is a political decision.