Statement from NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts on H. 4448, An Act to Reduce Racial Disparities in Maternal Health
BOSTON, Mass. – Rebecca Hart Holder, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, the Commonwealth’s leading grassroots, pro-choice political advocacy organization, issued the following the statement on H.4448 being reported favorably out of the Committee on Health Care Finance:
“As we continue to listen and learn, we echo the Black community’s demand for justice, including the demand for reproductive justice. In the United States, Black women are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth than white women. This is intolerable and must end.
“We look forward to this bill coming to the House and Senate floors for a vote. Creating a commission is a first-step in addressing the racial disparities in maternal health. The commission will allow us to listen and learn from those whose voices matter most – communities with high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, leaders from the Black and Brown communities, those who have experienced maternal morbidity, and those with family members who have died from pregnancy-related causes.
“The bill creates a strong commission that will be required to issue substantive policy recommendations within one year of its creation. NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts is committed to fighting for these recommendations, and seeing them signed into law.”
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Contact:
Jon Latino
978-870-9388