Jackson and Summers call state leaders to action during Black Maternal Health Week
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It’s Black Maternal Health Week, and we want to shine a spotlight on the unique issues that Black moms in Indiana face and discuss how to improve the standard of healthcare they receive before, during and after pregnancy. Across the board, Black mothers do not receive the same level of care as their white counterparts, resulting in deadly consequences.
The last thing an expecting mother should worry about is feeling unheard by the medical team charged with their well-being. And yet, these fears ring true for far too many Black mothers. The most recent data from the CDC lays out the grim reality faced by Black women across the country: Black mothers die at a staggering rate of 2.6 times that of white mothers.
Looking at the numbers for Indiana further showcases this racial disparity. Indiana has the 3rd highest maternal mortality rate in America, and most of those deaths are Black mothers. A recent report shows that in Indiana in 2021, Black women represented 13% of live births but 21% of maternal deaths.
Simply put, there is a crisis in our state. This crisis is fueled by a multitude of policy failures, including Black mortality rates, implicit bias within the healthcare system and a lack of dedicated funding for solutions. It doesn’t help that Indiana has an abortion ban in place – women know when they are able to carry an unintended pregnancy healthily, and the ban makes it so that the most vulnerable will be the ones carrying unintended pregnancies to term.
Unfortunately, the Republican supermajority at the Statehouse has not previously greenlit a wealth of legislation that would go far toward saving Black moms’ lives, but the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus is committed to offering and passing solutions of substance. At the same time, we are proud to celebrate the legislative wins that have passed and been signed into law.
Rep. Summers co-authored a 2022 law to end the practice of shackling pregnant inmates when they give birth. Birth should not be a traumatic experience, but until just two years ago, the system was failing women who were forced to give birth while incarcerated. She has also fought to create a grant program for community organizations fighting the maternal mortality crisis, but Republican supermajority voted down her amendments to do so during the abortion special session and haven’t yet heard her grant program legislation in committee.
Rep. Jackson has filed legislation for several years now to end the practice of doctors performing non-consensual pelvic exams on patients while they are sedated. In a positive development, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently instructed teaching hospitals to obtain written consent before performing sensitive exams, but codifying this common-sense practice in state law is necessary. Our healthcare system has failed Black women time and time again by abusing the relationship of trust that should exist between doctor and patient. This would go a long way toward restoring that trust.
Unfortunately, it is well documented that pregnancy and domestic violence go hand in hand. Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, offered a bill this session to make it easier for victims of domestic violence to file forms requesting a protection order and remove affidavit requirements from parts of the process for establishing probable cause. A holistic approach to improving mortality rates is necessary, and that strategy includes protecting moms and moms-to-be from abusers.
Expanding access to substance use disorder recovery efforts is a critical part of solving this issue because addiction is currently the number-one cause of maternal mortality in Indiana. Rep. Renee Pack (D-Indianapolis) has worked on this issue by offering a bill to ensure that Medicaid patients are not given lifetime restrictions on receiving substance use recovery treatments.
Defunding harmful organizations that only contribute to misinformation about pregnancy and abortion is important if we’re going to fund organizations truly working on behalf of vulnerable moms-to-be. Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis, offered an amendment during the 2022 abortion special session to require that Real Alternatives, which receives state funding and operates so-called “pregnancy resource centers” throughout the state, must provide medically accurate information to patients. However, House Republican lawmakers voted it down.
Finally, Rep. Robin Shackleford, D-Indianapolis, has repeatedly filed a bill to require that healthcare professionals and community health workers undergo cultural awareness and competency training every two years. Working to break down the harmful biases that some doctors hold about Black women will ensure that every pregnant woman’s doctor cares about her unique circumstances and needs as she undergoes pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period.
While we’ve made strides in improving maternal health outcomes, the fact remains that there is much more work to do. If we are able to deploy those resources and enact policies to make healthcare truly equitable, Black maternal mortality can be greatly improved, but that’s only if we can muster the necessary support behind the notion that Black mothers’ lives are worth protecting.