The Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren unveiled her plan to maintain the safety of new mothers in Houston on Monday.
What We Know:
- Warren revealed her plan this week to lower the maternal mortality rate among African-American women. White women die approximately 12 out of 100,000 births while the number is 40 for African American women according to the American Heart Association. The maternal mortality rate of African-American women is “three or four times higher than white women.”
- Warren believes that medical providers should be rewarded with ‘bonus’ funds for reducing the number of maternal deaths. For those that don’t stick to the plan, she believes that hospitals that do not comply should have money taken away from them. She mentioned in her plan that she’d like hospitals to view it their responsibility to address this problem head-on and make it a priority.
- This plan was first revealed at this year’s “She The People” conference in Texas, and was met with outstanding applause from the diverse audience in attendance.
- Ensuring that African-American women receive the healthcare and assurance they need has been a big part of Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign.
- Kira Dixon Johnson who tragically died from internal bleeding in April 2016 after not receiving the medical attention she needed is one of the most prominent examples of maternal mortality in black women.
- In a recent interview with CNN, Warren said “Doctors and nurses don’t hear African American women’s medical issues the same way that they hear [sic] the same things from white women. We gotta change that and we gotta change it fast because people’s lives are at stake.”
We are here for Warren standing up for our women!
Tiffanie Lanelle, Alex Haynes and Madelyn Gee contributed to this article.
