Target: Bill Cassidy, Chair of U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Goal: Support expansion of investments in maternal mental healthcare services.
The trial of Lindsay Clancy ignited a firestorm of legal debate and spurred a broader discussion about maternal mental health. The Massachusetts labor and delivery nurse was accused of strangling to death her three children and then attempting to take her own life. Her lawyers argued she was in the grip of a lesser-known condition called postpartum psychosis and therefore lacked the ability to understand the gravity of her alleged crimes. They also condemned healthcare professionals who they claim failed in their duty to provide a struggling new mother proper diagnosis and care.
“We need to make sure that when there’s postpartum or maternal mental health, that these doctors start listening to women. Because that’s not what they’re doing right now. And they’re doing a disservice to the entire population of women that need care after they have a child,” one of Clancy’s attorneys said in a strongly worded statement following the judge’s declaration of a mistrial — and a jury deadlock — in the controversial case. In many respects, mental health issues like postpartum depression (which affects an estimated 15 percent of mothers) impacting women remain stigmatized, under-studied, and under-funded in comparison to more visible physical illnesses.
Sign the petition below to urge much more investment in this critical field of healthcare.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Senator Cassidy,
Robust studies have indicated that women are at risk for severe mental health issues up to five months after they give birth. The Lindsay Clancy trial — regardless of one’s views on this specific case — has drawn a stark line underneath a problem that has been festering and increasing for years: the understanding of and approach to maternal mental illness. New screening tools, guidelines, and therapeutic approaches are desperately needed, but these crucial resources likewise desperately need proper funding and investment.
While scattered state bills address factors like Medicaid coverage for postpartum depression, financial reimbursements for maternal mental health expenditures, improved screenings, and the establishment of task forces to study the issues, what’s lacking is a comprehensive effort at the national level to create a framework of policies that benefits women across the country. Please make such an effort a top priority for the health committee you lead. Mental health – and especially maternal mental health – deserves nothing less than your full attention and advocacy.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
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