Target: Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of U.S. House of Representatives
Goal: Invest in better healthcare outcomes for expectant mothers.
More women die during childbirth in the United States than in any other developed country. For some pregnant women, the odds are stacked even higher. Black mothers-to-be are three times as likely to pass away as white women. These shameful statistics reveal something deeply broken within the American healthcare system, and without long-overdue changes more lives will be needlessly lost.
A series of bills dubbed the Black Maternal Health Momnibus were introduced in 2020. This group of initiatives seeks more investment and protections for maternal health, particularly for vulnerable minorities. One of these bills became law in November of 2021, when President Biden signed the Protecting Moms Who Served Act. This initiative provides stronger funding for pregnant military veterans. Much more work still remains, however. Grant programs, research, enhanced training for medical professionals in this field, and Medicaid extension are among the yet-to-be-passed and integral aspects of the Momnibus initiative.
Sign the petition below to urge Congress to take up and support these life-saving healthcare reforms.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Speaker Pelosi,
The United States supposedly has the best healthcare in the world, yet this country is the only developed nation where maternal mortality rates are on the rise. The racial disparities in these rates are even more troubling. The time for a full commitment to the Momnibus package is long past due.
Recent passage of the veterans initiative was a good start, but the piecemeal approach cannot continue because lives are at stake every day of inaction. Mothers should not have to depend on the passage of the Build Back Better plan for security when the prospects for this plan grow dimmer. California passed a comprehensive Momnibus package in full, and now is the time for Congress to do the same.
Introduce these incredibly consequential bills to the floor and give them your full support. America’s moms are counting on you.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Barbara Ribeiro
THESE PEOPLE ALWAYS STEREOTYPING, THIS IS OFFENSIVE BECAUSE THEY ARE PRACTICALLY SAYING THAT BLACK WOMEN ARE IGNORANT AND DON’T KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE THEMSELVES, THAT IS BULLSHIT WHITE WOMEN ARE JUST AS LIKELY TO DIE AS BLACKS AND HISPANICS I’M SO SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT SKIN COLORS STOP THIS STUPIDITY AND IGNORANCE AND STOP PLAYING THE RACE CARD!!
No, this is not stereotyping. The actual statistics show black mothers dying during or shortly after childbirth, or during pregnancy, more than white women. The reasons are unclear, but involve economic issues as well as untreated health conditions. What this is, is a failure of the country to protect the health of women during pregnancy. For instance, Texas had the highest rate of maternal mortality in the country, (of both blacks and whites,) But when that news came out, the Texas legislature called a special session, to discuss…making more abortion restrictions. The health of the women was never discussed. Now if you want to be outraged, be outraged about THAT!