It's not a coincidence that maternal mortality rates began rising as abortion became harder to get
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
APRIL 19, 2021
Last week was Black Maternal Health Week, which reproductive justice activists started in 2018 to raise awareness of the grim fact that maternal mortality rates for Black women are up to three times higher than they are for white women. For the first time ever, the White House also joined in, with President Joe Biden issuing a proclamation noting that "America's maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the developed world" and calling on "all Americans to recognize the importance of addressing the crisis of Black maternal mortality and morbidity in this country."
The reasons for this crisis are multifaceted. As Vice President Kamala Harris explained in an interview with STAT, "systemic disparities and implicit bias" in health care are major contributors.