Seth Kaller, Inc.

Thanking Dr. Paul Means for helping to change the policy of Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock to allow fathers to be present for Caesarean-section births. Four months earlier, she had given birth there to Chelsea Victoria, and Governor Bill Clinton had insisted on being present at the delivery.

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON. Autograph Letter Signed, to Paul N. Means, June 28, [1980], Little Rock, Arkansas. On Arkansas Governor’s Mansion notecard. 1 p., 5 x 7¼ in.

Inventory #26561       Price: $1,250

Complete Transcript

                                                                        June 28

Dear Dr. Means,

            I learned last week of the BMC’s Executive Committee’s support for a policy permitting prepared fathers to remain with their wives during Caesarean births. I personally wanted to thank you. Bill and I had such wonderful care from the physicians and staff. We will always cherish our time together during Chelsea’s birth. This action will allow other couples to have a similar experience. Congratulations.

                                                                        Regards,

                                                                        Hillary Rodham

Historical Background

Upon arriving at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock on February 27, 1980, the Clintons learned that their baby was breech and would need to be delivered by Caesarean section. The staff informed Gov. Clinton that fathers were not permitted in the delivery room for C-sections, but he insisted, and was in the room when Chelsea Clinton was born. The Clintons then pressed the hospital to change their policy, for the benefit of other families in similar circumstances.

Dr. Paul Means was responsible for getting the Executive Committee to do so. In 2013, at a Save the Children fundraiser, President Clinton accepted the “Father of the Year” award, recounting his experience with Chelsea’s birth: “And from that day to this, I have believed without the shadow of a doubt that it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.” Chelsea Clinton made a surprise appearance at the event to present the award to her father.

Paul N. Means (1923-1993) graduated from Henderson State University, University of Arkansas Medical School, and Baylor School of Anesthesia. He served with the 101^st Airborne from 1943 to 1952. Later, as an anesthesiologist in Little Rock, Arkansas, he frequently worked at Baptist Medical Center. In January 1980, Governor Bill Clinton appointed Means to represent the Certified Anesthesiologists Board on the Inhalation Therapy Examining Committee.

Hillary Rodham Clinton (b. 1947) was born in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated from Wellesley College in 1969. She met fellow law student Bill Clinton at Yale Law School. Graduating in 1973, she began additional postgraduate study on children and medicine at the Yale Child Study Center. After working as a lawyer in Washington, D.C., in 1974, she moved and joined the faculty of the Law School of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. In 1975, she married Bill Clinton, who was elected as Arkansas attorney general in November 1976. Moving to Little Rock, she joined a law firm and continued to publish articles on children’s law and family policy. Bill Clinton was elected governor, serving from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992. On February 27, 1980, Hillary gave birth to their only child, Chelsea Clinton. She was First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She was elected by New York and served in the U.S. Senate from 2001 to 2009. As a candidate for the presidency in 2008, Senator Clinton lost the Democratic nomination to Senator Barack Obama. In January 2009, President Obama appointed Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State, a position she held from 2009 to 2013. In 2016, she won the Democratic nomination, and won the popular vote for the presidency by more than 3,000,000 votes, but lost the Electoral College vote to Republican Donald Trump.

Condition: Smoothed folds.