Judy Luce

Judy Luce, a homebirth midwife for 32 years, was present at Weston Priory when the Ixcot family arrived in 1984 as part of the Sanctuary Movement.  She and her husband Tom were part of the original support group for Felipe and Elena -- Guatemala Watch of Vermont. In August,1999 she accompanied Felipe and Elena on their second trip home after 17 years of exile.  During this visit she met with the ACAM midwives and heard Antonina speak of her dream to have their own birth home. An exchange that began small - North American midwives donating midwifery supplies to Mayan midwives and inviting them to midwifery and herbal conferences in the US - rapidly evolved into plans for a birth home and midwifery education center that was dedicated in 2004 and includes a clinic and community meetiing space. Judy has traveled to Guatemala over a half dozen times and is continuously inspired by the creativity, ingenuity, and skill of women who have, at the most, a 6th grade education, and who work under the most difficult conditions.