Political Quotes

“We are in the midst of a shameful healthcare crisis. In 2021, there is no reason that giving birth should be more dangerous for women today than it was for their mothers. Despite declining rates and maternal mortality around the world, in the United States, the rates have been climbing in recent years. Decades of institutional racism in our society and our healthcare system have brought us to this moment. Data released by the CDC last month shows that the maternal mortality crisis is only worsening, and the risks are even greater for Black women and other women of color. Black women are three times more likely, and indigenous women are more than twice as likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as non-Hispanic women. Even worse, more than two-thirds of the deaths are preventable. Additionally, the rates of pregnancy-related complications are on the rise. And for every maternal death in the United States, there are approximately 100 women who experience severe maternal morbidity, or a ``near miss.'' As chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust and co- chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, I have seen so many examples of how the healthcare system fails Black women. Maternal mortality is a complex crisis with inequities stemming from many factors, including access to care, standardization of care, bias, and racism.…”