With a key senator saying hospitals can be “Petri dishes” for infections, lawmakers are considering a pair of bills that would increase the number of options for pregnant women who are seeking out-of-hospital deliveries.

Despite concerns about safety and potential effects of competition on hospitals, the Senate Health Policy Committee this week unanimously passed a measure (SB 448) by Chairwoman Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, that would authorize “advanced birth centers” and allow them to offer certain women access to cesarean deliveries and epidurals. The bill would allow the facilities to keep women for up to three days.